


Triacontagon

by Shaded Mazoku (Ashkaztra)



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alcohol, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Drunkenness, Exhibitionism, Food Sex, Frottage, Light Bondage, M/M, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Public Blow Jobs, Rimming, Rough Sex, Threesome - M/M/M, alien abduction fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-01
Updated: 2014-04-30
Packaged: 2018-01-17 20:55:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 63,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1402156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashkaztra/pseuds/Shaded%20Mazoku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In geometry, an triacontagon is a thirty-sided polygon. A month's worth of Todd/John ficlets, exploring the relationship. </p><p>Updated daily in April 2014. I hope. </p><p>As I'm using the 30 day NSFW OTP challenge, the ratings will increase as we go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

> OTP challenge time. Because I can.
> 
> Some of these are in the same continuity, some aren't. I'll try to note which are related when I post them. 
> 
> I promise this isn't an April Fool's joke.
> 
> The challenge:
> 
> Cuddles (naked)  
> Kiss (naked)  
> First time  
> Masturbation  
> Blow job  
> Clothed getting off  
> Dressed/naked (half dressed)  
> Skype sex  
> Against the wall  
> Doggy style  
> Dom/sub  
> Fingering  
> Rimming  
> 69  
> Sweet and passionate  
> In public place  
> On the floor  
> Morning lazy sex  
> Outdoors, woods, parks, gardens  
> Your own kink  
> Shower sex  
> On the desk  
> Trying new position  
> Shy  
> With toys  
> Boring sex  
> Rough, biting, scratch  
> Role playing  
> With food  
> Whatever pleases you

1\. Cuddles (naked)

John was beginning to suspect he was more than a little drunk. He never really realised how drunk he was until he tried to stand up and his legs wobbled underneath him, and by then it was too late. At least he was upright, kind of, though it was a precarious kind of upright, the kind where a little push was likely to see him falling flat on his face. He didn't particularly want to test it. Falling on his face hurt, which he could deal with, and was very embarrassing, which he'd rather not deal with. At the moment, he was more concerned with getting back to his room without falling over in a corner than anything else.

Not that he had much reason to worry about his reputation. Pretty much everyone in Atlantis had been drinking, celebrating another year survived with the best beer they'd traded for, and when that was out they'd moved on to moonshine. Preciously few people were still sober, and he doubted they'd say anything. The last year had been a mess, and most of the people who were drinking were doing it in sheer relief that they still lived.

That'd been John's main reasoning, too.

He was upright, at least. That had to be worth something, at least in comparison to the marines who'd tried to out-drink Zelenka and were passed out in a corner. They should have known better. Even Ronon couldn't out-drink Zelenka, and he was pretty much a super hero. The marines hadn't even had a chance.

John was smarter than that. He'd only gone for out-drinking Rodney, who was a lightweight anyway, and Lorne. He was still woozy, but at least he wasn't passed out in a corner. When he was as drunk as he currently was, he took his victories where he could find them.

Most of them had scattered by then, wandered off to their room, or to finish the celebrations in smaller groups. John had been given a few invitations, but he didn't feel right hanging out with any of his men. They'd feel restrained by his presence, and he didn't want to put a damper on their high spirits. Better to attempt getting back to his room instead, preferably without injury to his person. A slightly tall order, perhaps, but he seemed to manage well enough, even if he did have to pause occasionally to lean on the wall for a moment.

Walls were nice like that. They didn't move.

Except the one he'd just walked into. That wall hissed. Walls shouldn't hiss.

Looking up, he found himself blinking up at Todd, who didn't seem entirely as aloof as he normally managed. Wraith did hiss. Good. That meant John wasn't quite that drunk yet.

"You're not a wall," he said, grinning for no real reason. "Walls don't hiss at me."

"I am sure they would have if they could," Todd replied, looking down at him with his head tilted, his default "trying to figure out human weirdness" expression on his face. "You should watch were you are going."

His tattoo looked lopsided, but John suspected that was just him. He wasn't entirely sure if that meant he was imagining things or if he was just lopsided himself, but that was less important. He was fairly sure Wraith tattoos didn't just move, though. He'd have noticed that by now. It looked pretty funny like that, and John couldn't quite keep from snickering.

Todd frowned at him. "What is the matter with you?" He asked, sounding almost a little concerned.

"There was beer," John explained, looking up at Todd. The Wraith was offensively upright, and too damn tall besides. "And then there was some weird shit they brew in hydroponics that we don't talk about." 

"You are drunk," Todd informed him. 

"You're creepy," John retorted, grinning. "And I'll be sober again tomorrow. You'll still be creepy!"

Making a decidedly amused sound, Todd stepped out of the way and nudged John forward. "You will probably be ill tomorrow. I do believe being creepy is much easier to live with." 

John blinked up at Todd as he was nudged again. "What are you doing?" He asked, confused. 

"I am making sure you get back to your quarters safely," Todd said, giving him another nudge. "It would be a shame if you were to fall off of the city and drown."

"I'd be dead then," John mused, letting Todd shove him in front of himself. "I don't think I'd like that."

Snorting, Todd just kept moving him. "It would be a waste," he agreed, though he sounded somewhat sarcastic. 

"You would think that," John muttered. "You'd want to kill me yourself."

"At the moment, Sheppard," Todd said, pushing him forward again, "You are not particularly appetizing. I would prefer you less marinated."

That sent John into another laughing fit, during which Todd took advantage to push him along more effectively.

Creepiness aside, John was glad he'd run into Todd. He liked Todd, at least most of the time. The Wraith was funny, funny and clever, and John appreciated that. He also appreciated how Todd made his name sound like a purr. It made him want to do all sorts of inappropriate things to him. He bet Todd' would be good at inappropriate things. He was really old, after all, with lots of experience. And he had nice hands, even if they were kind of scary. 

He was strong, too, effortlessly shoving John along as though he weighed next to nothing. John bet he could do all kinds of interesting things with that, too, and he really wanted to try it out. He always got easily worked up when drunk, his mind going interesting places. 

By the time they got to John's quarters, John was feeling flushed for reasons that weren't just the alcohol. He wondered if Todd could read his mind right then, because if he could, that'd be embarrassing. His mind was probably pretty loud, too, and that made it worse. 

"Open the door, Sheppard," Todd told him, his voice all stern patience. 

John tried to do as he was told, but it wasn't easy to open a mentally controlled door when he was drunk and his mind was more interested in the Wraith next to him than in the door. He managed to get the door open eventually, though, and Todd marched him through it, over to the bed. 

"Can you manage undressing or do you require assistance?" Todd asked, looking down at him. His eyes were nice when they glowed like that, all warm and golden. 

Wriggling a bit, John managed to pull his shirt off, but he almost tipped forwards when he tried to get his boots. He caught himself by grabbing onto Todd, clutching a handful of his coat like a lifeline. 

"Can I just hang onto you for a moment?" He asked, aware that he'd probably never get his boots off otherwise. 

Nodding, Todd just watched him, head tilted to the side again. 

Holding onto Todd to keep from falling over, John managed to get his boots off, then wriggled out of his pants as well. He usually slept dressed, because there was always some crisis waking him up, but he preferred sleeping naked if he could, and he was too drunk to care if he had to run into hall naked later. Besides, he got to be naked with Todd. Well, he was naked anyway. Todd was not. He should be naked, too, because being naked was better when you were naked with someone. 

"Go to bed, Sheppard," Todd said, smiling at him. It was a strange smile, none of the usual mockery and sarcasm. Todd never smiled like that normally.

Maybe he'd caught drunk off of John. John was pretty sure that wasn't possible, but at the same time, he couldn't see any other reason why Todd would smile at him like that. It was a nice smile, though. Todd wasn't, strictly speaking, what most people would call handsome, but he was striking. 

"You should stay here," John found himself saying, almost like his body had a mind of its own. He meant it, though, he realised. "If you want, I mean."

He felt very vulnerable all of a sudden, naked and exposed. Nudity didn't bother him, too much time living in barracks had stripped him of that a long time ago, but Todd had a way of looking at him like he could see right through him. He might be drunk, but he wasn't drunk enough to forget that Todd was a Wraith. It was really hard to forget that when he still bore the scar to prove it on his chest, one larger scar with five smaller scars in an arch above it.

The memories of how he got that scar was probably part of why he had this thing for Todd in the first place. He wasn't good with these things, but it was hard imagining anything being more intimate that having his life pulled out and then forced back in. He'd been expecting the pain, but the strange pleasure the sharing of life had brought had been entirely unexpected. If they hadn't been interrupted at the time, John was pretty sure he'd have embarrassed himself thoroughly.

Kind of like what he felt like he'd done this time, in fact.

"Sheppard," Todd said, and there was no anger in his voice at least, so John stopped trying to look everywhere else and looked up at the Wraith instead. He still had his head tilted so much he looked like he was about to do that thing owls did when they turned their heads over. He didn't look angry, either. "Are you trying to proposition me?"

"I guess?" John admitted, because that was kind of the idea. He just wasn't good at it. He never had been. Friendly flirting with no real intention to follow up from either side was easy enough, easy and fun, and hooking up with someone for just sex was fine, but it was different with Todd. For one thing, it'd be strategically problematic if he fucked up, because they needed Todd to stay an ally. Secondly, he actually liked the Wraith. It was always different when he actually liked someone.

Making a strange sound in the back of his throat, Todd shook his head a little. "You are really not good at this," he said.

"You think I don't know that?" John asked, scowling up at him. "If you're just going to mock me you can go away." He didn't want Todd to go, but he didn't want to be mocked, either. Not for something he'd never been able to deal with.

Todd reached out and put his hand on John's shoulder, squeezing gently. "I did not say that, Sheppard," he said, voice dropping into a purr on John's name again, like it often did. "Humans are not like Wraith, and among Wraith, your offer could have been taken in many ways. I needed to know what you offered."

Wraith were kind of weird about things, really. John has seen Todd's crew curl up into Wraith-piles for no real reason, but then, he supposed that when you were telepathically connected, physical touch didn't even begin to register as invasive.

"You. Me. Naked. Bed," John said, dragging the words out slowly. "Is that clear enough for you?"

There was no verbal reply. Instead, Todd pulled his coat off and threw it at John, and by the time John had managed to untangle himself, Todd had managed to remove his shirt as well, before bending to pull his boots off. John wasn't even pretending he wasn't looking, fascinated by every inch of green skin revealed.

Apparently, Todd was no more bothered by nudity than John was, seemingly perfectly at ease with standing around without anything on. Then again, Wraith didn't really notice cold as humans did, and they had the freaky hive-mind thing, so it probably wasn't that big a deal to him. John was pretty sure he was more bothered by Todd's nudity than Todd himself was, because that was a whole lot of Wraith and he was too drunk not to stare like an idiot.

"Bed?" He repeated, trying to look elsewhere. He failed.

John's bed really wasn't big enough for the both of them, and it took some awkward wriggling to get comfortable. John ended up mostly lying on top of Todd, though he couldn't say that he minded too much. Todd's skin felt cool and smooth against him, and his heartbeat was slow and steady. It felt nice.

"You are warm," Todd murmured, running his fingers gently up John's arm. He sounded pleased by the fact.

"You smell nice," John replied, leaning into his neck. He did, a strangely appealing earthy scent. "Like moss. Good moss, not bad moss."

Todd's chest vibrated as he rumbled in amusement. "You should sleep, Sheppard," he said, still stroking his fingers over John's skin.

"But," John began, but Todd shook his head.

"Sleep," he repeated. "We will discuss this arrangement further when you are sober enough to make informed decisions."

John wanted to protest, but he was fairly sure he'd get nowhere with it, and besides, Todd had a point. He was rather drunk. Too drunk for sex, really. He'd probably fall out of the bed and hurt himself if he tried. Instead, he curled further against Todd, pressing his face against his neck, inhaling his scent. It was almost as good as sex. "At least I won't fall out of be like this," he murmured.

"Your bed is ridiculous," Todd informed him, hand sliding up to stroke John's neck rhythmically.

"Your hair is ridiculous," John retorted, yawning against Todd's neck. "Shush. I'm sleeping."

At least he was almost there, drifting into sleep to the sound of Todd's slow heartbeat. The last thing he heard before sleep claimed him was a deep, rumbling purr.


	2. Words Only Get You So Far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hangovers are the worst, especially when your partner is an alien who doesn't get them. 
> 
> Kisses improve things quite a bit, though. 
> 
> Direct follow-up to day one, because I had enough trouble getting them into that bed once.

When he woke up, John found himself stumbling out of bed, rushing to the bathroom to throw up. Hangovers sucked. He didn't often drink enough that it was quite that bad in the mornings, but whatever they put in the hydroponics department's special brew, it was not agreeing with him. He hadn't eaten much the night before either, which probably didn't improve matters at all.

At least it meant he had mostly liquids to throw up.

Once he was certain he wasn't going to retch again, he staggered to his feet and rinsed his mouth out, grimacing. It felt like being back in college, except without being able to blame it all on being young and dumb. He grabbed his toothbrush and brushed the fur and bad taste off of his teeth and tongue until he felt marginally like a human being again. Marginally. He filled a glass of water and downed some painkillers so that his head might decide to forgive him eventually before heading back into the bedroom.

Todd was watching him, eyes glowing in the dark, though he'd made no attempts to leave his blanket nest. John was pretty sure he wouldn't be getting much sympathy from the Wraith, not when he'd inflicted the pain on himself. Todd had very little patience for human stupidity. He did move over and let John crawl back into bed, though, and stroked his neck with wonderfully cool fingers until he drifted off again, which was as close to sympathy as he was going to get.

The next time he woke up, John's head still hurt, but he didn't feel like throwing up any more, which was a relief. He had no idea how long he'd slept, but Todd didn't seem to have moved. He was pretty much in the exact same position, his fingers still stroking John's neck gently.

"Good … Whatever," John said, looking at Todd carefully. He'd been just about ready to climb him like a tree last night, but now he was glad the Wraith had kept him at bay, because he wasn't quite sure he was ready to deal with that whole thing just yet. Better to take a step at a time, and lying curled up against Todd in a dark room seemed a large enough step on its own.

"Midday," Todd said, looking at him. "It is midday."

"Really?" John asked, frowning a little. He never slept that late unless he was sedated. He craned his head so he could see the clock. It was indeed past noon. "That's new."

Shifting against him, Todd made that amused rumble again. "That is a natural consequence of poisoning yourself," he pointed out.

"Probably," John agreed. "But I've been drunk before without sleeping this late before. I must be getting old."

Todd snorted, clearly not impressed with his reasoning.

"We can't all be ancient immortals," John pointed out, taking the opportunity to brush his fingers across Todd's skin. It felt strange to the touch, all smooth with no hair or scars to change the texture. He kind of liked it. 

For whatever reason, those words seemed to make Todd pause for a while, going completely still, but before John could ask, he went back to stroking his fingers over John's neck like it'd never happened. 

John knew that feeling. There were a lot of things they should probably talk about. He wouldn't even know where to begin, though, or what to say, and getting anything out of Todd was practically impossible. They were well matched in that, if nothing else. Still , he should probably stay something. 

"Did I really tell you that you smell like moss last night?" 

That was not what he'd intended to say, but Todd just chuckled. 

"You may have said something to that effect," he said, grinning. 

"Good to know I haven't lost my touch," John muttered, shaking his head a little. He really wasn't good at flirting.

Making a decidedly amused sound, tugging John a little closer. "Your actions spoke for you," he said. "And that is far from the strangest thing you have ever said to me." 

It probably wasn't, at that. John chuckled a little and leaned in, pressing his lips against Todd's. He really did communicate better with actions. 

Todd purred in response, returning the kiss. His fingers tangled into John's hair, cradling his head. 

It felt good to be kissed like that, hard enough to leave him breathless but without demanding anything more. Not that he didn't want more, he did, but his head still hurt, and he wasn't quite ready to jump into potentially freaky alien sex before he was sure what that'd entail. The kissing was nice, though, and John would happily spend a long time just doing that for now. It wasn't like there was a rush. He'd rather take his time and enjoy himself before he inevitably messed it up.

Until then, they'd make do, like they always did. Preferably involving a lot more kissing in the process.


	3. Breaking in the bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John has a new bed. What better way to break it in than to invite his Wraith boyfriend over?

Thylia was an interesting world. Known to Atlantis as P6X-37Y, it was a planet of craftsmen who'd been having a lot of problems with what was best described as an unholy armadillo-bear hybrid. Atlantis had helped them set up solar-powered electrical fencing and chemical deterrents, the latter of which was pretty much just chilli pepper fields. The Thylians didn't want to kill the animals, just keep their children and the livestock safe, and they'd been very happy to have a non-lethal solution. 

As a result, Atlantis had netted themselves a trading partner who could provide pretty much anything they'd need and would offer them very reasonable prices, which was great. They might have contact with Earth again, but power was precious and only very important items were shipped through the gate. Everything else had to wait for the Daedalus to complete its forty-five day cycle. 

The Thylians had also insisted on making John's team a gift each, as a special thank-you. Teyla had received a very nice-looking divider screen with carved flower vines and delicate-looking dragonfly creatures that had many of the expedition envious. For Ronon, they'd made a display case for his various keepsakes from hunts and travels. He'd been acquiring more after he got to Atlantis, and had a safe place to keep them. Rodney had gotten a bookshelf with movable parts, so he could partition off different categories of books. Despite having most of his books digitally, even Rodney hadn't had anything to complain about. 

To John, the Thylians had presented a bed. 

It was a nice bed. It was large, large and sturdy, and had a simple kind of elegance that made it look surprisingly professional for something produced by hand. The Thylians were remarkable artisans when it came to wood carving and carpentry, showing a great eye for little details. The bed frame was nowhere as ornate as Teyla’s divider screen was, but it had a bevelled pattern that made it look more alive, the pattern emphasized by staining the inside of the bevelled edges darker than the outside. The parts that weren’t stained had been polished until they glowed a warm, flame-toned brown. It was a very nice, yet very functional piece of furniture.

John had to wonder who’d told the Thylians about his bed, though. Clearly someone had mentioned it.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know the old bed was ridiculous. He’d chosen the room for the view and location, not for the furniture, and it hadn’t been important to change the bed. He wasn’t a restless sleeper, so falling off the narrow mattress was unlikely, and he hadn’t really expected to have company in bed, so that hadn’t been a concern either. There had been more pressing concerns. Besides, it wasn't as though he could have easily dealt with it. There was a severe lack of IKEAs in the Pegasus galaxy. 

That didn’t mean that he didn’t appreciate the Thylian bed, though. If nothing else, it was big enough to make one impressive pillow nest in, perfect for flopping back and watching a movie. He'd had to specially order a mattress for it, but it was worth that. He'd gone from a bed it was possible to roll off of if he turned too suddenly to a bed he could sprawl out across and still not have his toes off of the bed. The difference was astonishing. 

It was good for other things too, he was learning, lying on the bed curled up against Todd. The last time they'd shared his bed, they'd been forced to press close to each other or fall off of the bed, but they had all the room they'd ever need on the new one. Not that it was stopping them from lying curled up around each other, but it was nice to have room to move around. 

They'd come back to his room to to take a break, originally. They'd just returned from one mission where they'd been working together and they were leaving on another early the following morning, so their plan had been to go curl up with a movie. The potential presented by the new bed had sidetracked them, though, ripe with potential and much more interesting than a movie, and it hadn't taken them long to end up naked in bed, slowly exploring each other's bodies.

Time and circumstance had been getting in their way constantly, and they had yet to get further than just kissing. An opportunity to have an entire evening to themselves was too precious to let go to waste. 

The differences between their bodies seemed to fascinate Todd as much as it did John, which made sense. He didn't think Todd had any more experience with humans than he himself had with Wraith. Thankfully, they weren't so different that it was hard to figure out what to do, but it was still fascinating how Todd's skin was completely smooth, devoid of hair or scars, only the slightly raised surface of his tattoos changing the texture. He had a lot more tattoos than was normally visible, too, patterns sprawling over pale green skin like spilled ink. The most intricate one was on his back, following the bony ridge of his spine on the left side, an elaborately stylised pattern that looked kind of like a flower hanging from an arch, the leaves like wings behind it. He liked that one, but his favourite was splayed across Todd's right hip and onto his stomach, a pattern similar to the one around his eye, but with more single lines. 

It was a nice tattoo, but the location made it more interesting, the shape framing the hip bone. Tracing it with his fingers caused Todd to produce deep, purring sounds and nip at John's lips with his teeth, just avoiding causing any injury, until John's lips felt swollen and bruised in the best way possible. 

Just touching wasn't quite enough, though, and John eventually rolled over, pulling Todd on top of him, kissing him hard as he did. He liked kissing Todd, liked the sharp teeth and the way Todd kissed him until he was breathless and dazed. He was not particularly submissive by nature, but he enjoyed letting go and leaning back to enjoy the ride. He had to be in control all the time elsewhere; in the bedroom he was happy to have someone else take charge. Todd, on the other hand, was very much a dominant person, control and command coming naturally to him. That it extended to the bedroom was no surprise at all.

Giving a pleased, low growl, Todd shoved John back into the pillows, crawling on top of him, lowering his head so he could trace John's neck with his tongue. John shivered under the touch, leaning his head to the side to let him better access. Todd was heavy, heavy and solid, and his cool skin felt amazing against John's own skin, flushed with the heat of arousal. He arched into Todd's touches as the Wraith began stroking circles on his skin, careful of his sharp nails, and wrapped an arm around him, so he could run his fingers along the spinal ridge. 

Todd liked that a lot, apparently, pressing closer, a deep rumbling purr coming from his throat. He lowered his head further, dragging his tongue across the scar on John's chest, the remnant of their first meeting forever marked on John's skin. The surrounding cuts from Todd's nails hadn't scarred, but the centre one, where the feeding organ had pierced his skin, refused to fade, still a pale mark in the middle of his chest. It bothered him somewhat, especially since it was so obviously a Wraith feeding scar and normally only worshippers survived a feeding, but the way Todd responded to it made him feel a lot better about it. 

With his head like that, Todd's hair fell over John's chest, tickling him, a very pleasant combination of sensations. He'd had male lovers before, but not since college and none of them had been long-haired, and none of his female lovers had ever taken the active role, much to his regret. He liked being manhandled in bed, and Todd seemed to catch on to that very well.

They were both hard by then, so John wrapped his free hand around both their cocks as best he could, stroking them against each other. He bit his lip to keep from moaning, the slow slide almost painfully good. He could have gone faster, of course, but he wanted to drag it out as best he could. Todd rumbled against him, one hand sliding down John's side and behind to grab his ass, sharp nails digging in just enough to feel good, not enough to break skin.

John shivered. He'd love to go further, to wrap his legs around Todd's waist and cling to him as he was fucked with the same carefully measured strength as Todd always used in touching him, but those nails were not productive for preparing him for that.

"Hang on," he managed to get out somehow, his voice a lot shakier than he'd have expected. 

Todd lifted his head, looking at him, eyes warm in the low light of the room, warm and wide. It was a good look on him. "Sheppard?" He asked, his voice a raspy purr. 

"Just need to get something," John told him, and kissed him briefly for good measure. "Can't move very well with you on top of me." Wraith were a good deal heavier than a human of equivalent size, their skin and bones denser and heavier than human. It was a good weight when Todd was draped all over him, but it made it hard to move properly.

Watching him carefully, Todd pulled back a little, letting him move. John grinned up at him and rolled over, just enough that he could dig through his night stand for the bottle of lube he'd acquired. Bottle in hand, he leaned back into the pillows and pulled Todd back on top of him, kissing him again, biting at his lower lip. Todd seemed to like it when he bit him. Purring against him, the Wraith took to stroking his hands along John's skin again. John intercepted one hand and pulled it lower, wrapping it around their cocks like he'd had his before.

Catching on, Todd picked out a slow rhythm, pressing their cocks together with just enough force to not be quite enough. He kept his eyes on John, watching him intently.

Absurdly, considering their situation, John felt his cheeks heat a bit under that almost hungry look. 

Licking his lips absently, he opened the bottle and coated his fingers liberally, moving his hand beneath himself and pressing the first finger inside. He couldn't quite hold back the little noise of pleasure he made at that, and Todd only seemed to appreciate it more. 

It was a long time since he'd had anything inside him, but he still remembered how to do that, stretching himself out slowly, adding more fingers as he felt ready. He normally preferred to let his lovers do that to him, but Todd's nails were kind of terrifying, and watching Todd sit up, yellow eyes watching him intently as he stroked his hand along both their cocks was far more arousing than it had any reason to be. 

Deciding he was just about ready, John pulled his fingers out and met Todd's eyes, giving him a challenging look, trying to indicate that the ball was in his court.

Making a pleased sound, Todd crawled on top of him again, kissing him hard. He let go of John's cock for a moment in favour of steadying himself as he pressed into John, but as soon as he was sliding in, he wrapped his fingers around John again, picking up the same maddeningly slow pace. 

The double sensation was almost a bit much, and John gasped into the kiss, head falling back as he wrapped his legs around Todd's waist and clutched at his shoulders. "Move," he managed to demand, trying to press back onto Todd's cock. He needed him to move, needed to feel him move inside of him. 

Hissing, Todd did, slowly moving his hips, picking up pace slowly. John dug his nails into his shoulders and tried to urge him to move faster. Todd refused to budge, though, keeping his own slow pace, dragging it out. John wanted more, wanted him to take him harder, but Todd had his own plans. Apparently, he wanted to drive John mad in the process, nipping at John's neck as he fucked him. It felt so good, and John knew he wasn't going to last long, even with the slower pace. 

He let go of Todd's shoulders, dropping back into the pillows with a half-choked moan, winding his fingers into the sheets instead, arching up into every thrust. He didn't know what he wanted more, to come or for it to last longer, but he knew he wanted something more. He just didn't know how to ask for something he didn't even know. 

Todd seemed to get it anyway, running the fingers of his feeding hand up the inside of John's arm until he reached the wrist, gently untangling John's fingers from the sheet and lacing them with his own. At the same time, he picked up the pace, his thrusts faster and more erratic, more eager. 

The quickened pace and the shift in angle was all John needed to reach his limit, arching wildly as he came, body taut beneath Todd's weight. He didn't manage to hold back the raw groan of pleasure he made as his orgasm washed over him, but he was far beyond caring. 

Spurred on by John's climax, Todd made a deep, rasping purr and kept moving inside him until he reached his own edge, never letting go of John's hand as he collapsed onto him, face against his neck. He felt solid, felt real, and John found his eyes drifting closed. 

They were both a sticky, sweaty mess, but neither of them had the inclination to do much about it. Once he'd taken a moment to catch his breath, Todd pulled out of John and curled around him like a satisfied feline, still holding onto his hand. John didn't mind. It was his left hand, caught in Todd's right, and it wasn't as though he needed it at the moment. Besides, it felt nice. He couldn't remember the last time someone had held his hand. 

It was probably a Wraith thing, but it was a pretty harmless one, and John's mind was too overloaded to care. 

Curled against his back, Todd pressed his face against John's neck and smiled. "Your new bed is nice," he murmured warmly.

"I should send the Thylians a thank-you note," John agreed. 

Though he rather thought he'd leave the part about the bed being perfect for sex with a Wraith out of the note. No need to alarm anyone.


	4. Building Frustration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anger is strangely stimulating some times. 
> 
> This chapter is not in the same continuity as the previous three, as you might be able to tell. Much as I enjoy the funnier, more cute stuff, Sheppard is kind of a messed up guy, and I wanted to play with that.

As useful as thought-activated sliding doors were, they were somewhat lacking in slamming potential. It was very hard to make them make a satisfying level of noise. A dry pneumatic hiss just didn't have the same effect as a loud bang. 

It was just as well, John supposed. He was really a bit too old to slam doors, no matter how pissed off he was at the moment. Being furious wasn't good for his dignity. 

Sometimes, he just really wanted to punch Todd in the face. It wouldn't do much good, of course, Wraith bones were too dense to break easily and bruises just faded in a matter of minutes, but it was extremely tempting sometimes. He'd put the "no weapons" clause in because Ronon was very vocal about his dislike of the whole alliance, but it often benefited him as well. He doubted Todd would have been very impressed if John had just shot him, even if it wasn't strictly lethal to a Wraith. 

What made it worse was that Todd was obviously deliberately goading them most of the time, and he knew their weaknesses far better than John was comfortable with. He knew exactly where to needle them to get the best effect, and he was ruthless about it. 

It wasn't even the needling that made John so angry, though they certainly helped. It was just extremely frustrating to have him act like that because they were supposed to be allies and he kept throwing the fact that he still didn't trust them in their faces. They'd known each other so long he'd thought they'd earned a bit of a reprieve. They were willing to trust Todd, after all, at least within certain parameters. Todd wasn't willing to give them an inch beyond whatever he was offering for their latest cooperative venture. 

It was frustrating beyond belief. 

Scowling, John pulled his jacket off and tossed it at a nearby chair. It flopped off and fell to the ground like a puddle of cloth. He needed a break from dealing with the Wraith, but he was also the only one in Atlantis Todd listened even remotely to. The only other option was Teyla, and she was off with the Athosians to let Torren spend some time with his dad. It meant that they were completely dependent on John to deal with Todd, which, in turn, meant that John couldn't afford to let his temper slip.

No matter how much he wanted to punch Todd in the face some times.

Truthfully, that was more for Woolsey's sake than anything; John was pretty sure Todd would find it hilarious if he punched him. The damn Wraith had a twisted sense of humour. 

It had been Woolsey who had called for a break. Wraith were intimidating enough on their own, but ever since the Daedalus incident, Todd in particular made Woolsey a bit nervous. Normally, John found that hilarious, but this time, he'd jumped at the chance to get away. He'd needed the break, before he stopped being able to hold back.

There wasn't much he could do to cool his heels during the break, but at least he could grab a shower and hope the warm water could soothe away some of the tension building up in his muscles, at least. The advantage to a city built to float on the water like Atlantis did; the water heaters were always going full time, and running out of hot water was a rarity. It usually only happened if someone pissed off the science team enough. 

Pulling off the rest of his clothing as well, he discarded them on the bed and walked into the bathroom. 

The showers in Atlantis were just about the best thing ever. All the weirdness they'd seen since they came to the Pegasus galaxy had made them lose a lot of their awe towards the Ancients, and having met them had only cemented that, but they had been amazing at creating things. The showers were ATA sensitive, too, which meant that he always got the settings just the way they should be, no messing around with dials required. 

Currently, the shower decided that what he needed most was strong jets of water washing over his back, pressing into tense muscles and helping him unwind.

It left him free to mull over what to do with Todd, instead. 

Clearly punching him was out. It'd do no good, only serving to make him smugger than he normally was, which was not an option. Todd was pretty arrogant when it came to dealing with them, grinning at them with that "I know more than you" expression and at the same time, refusing to tell them anything without having them drag it out of him. It was infuriating. 

John had risked his head for their alliance many times, more times than he could count on one hand, and that should at least earn him some points with Todd. He didn't expect the Wraith to just stop being Wraith, well aware that Todd was acting according to ten thousand years of experience, but he felt like he deserved some basic cooperation and respect. All he wanted was for Todd to stop actively working against him, to stop riling him up and just watching the results with that smug grin, all sharp teeth and sharper tongue. 

Todd was frustratingly attractive when he was impossible. 

Blinking, John wondered where that thought had come from. It was not a welcome thought.

Maybe Todd was attractive, with those sharp features and long, agile fingers, all mottled green skin and self-assurance, but he was a stubborn, impossible jerk and that overrode any appeal he had.

He couldn't help but wonder, though, what those sharp-nailed fingers would feel like on his skin, digging into flesh just enough to feel good, the sharp bite enhancing the sensation. 

Apparently, John's body had its own ideas about what to do with stubborn Wraith, as his cock chose that moment to twitch in interest. 

Groaning, he let his head fall forward, his forehead hitting the glass wall. Just what he needed. Maybe if he ignored it, it'd go away on its own.

Of course it wasn't that easy. As he washed his hair out, his nails scraped against his skin, and his mind went right back to Todd's hands, large and long-fingered. He'd had felt the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life under those hands, but he'd also felt the strangest pleasure ever as his life was pushed back into him, pleasure mixed up with pain and fear into a weird complex ball. It was no wonder he had fixated on them. 

Glaring at his half-hard cock, treacherous thing that it was, John washed out the last remnants of shampoo and wrapped his hand around himself, stroking resolutely, trying to think of generic things that weren't in any way Wraith related. He wasn't particularly picky about his fantasy materials, just wanting to get off. Closing his eyes, he let the images wash across his mind, shapely bodies and warm touches against his skin. It'd been a long time since anyone had touched him in a sexual sense, and it took very little to make his cock perk up and pay attention.

He'd like that, he thought, someone wrapping an arm around his waist and a hand around his cock, stroking and teasing. He sighed a little, trying to soothe his anger away with pleasure. It felt good, like it always did, but he missed the edge of unpredictability that came with having someone else touch him, not knowing exactly what they'd do. 

Someone stronger would be nice, someone who could hold him in place and be both support and restraint. He didn't often indulge himself, but sometimes, he really liked being pinned in place and manhandled, letting someone else take control and just leaning back to enjoy the ride. 

He wondered what it'd be like to have Todd pin him against a wall. Wraith were solid, all muscle and sinew, and John wondered what that would feel like against him.

He scowled and tried to force his mind back on track, tried to focus on memories of old lovers, but the idea wouldn't leave him alone, nagging at him.

Wraith were cool to the touch, cool and smooth, and their skin was slick in the water. He wouldn't be able to break free if Todd wanted to keep him still, holding him in place while stroking his cock steadily, making those little amused rasps at how John reacted. Todd would love that, the fact that John couldn't stop thinking about him, that he still reacted like that even if he wanted nothing to do with the idea. He'd dig his claws lightly into John's side, not hard enough to be painful unless John tried to pull away. 

His hand would be strange against John's cock, the feeding organ giving it a different texture, the claws dragging barely across the skin. 

Biting his lip, John tried to replicate that as best he could, but his nails were too short, the result not quite matching what he imagined. 

He'd enjoy it, even if he'd be pissed off about it, trying his best not to show it. He'd bite back every gasp and moan he could, clenching his jaws shut until he couldn't hold back any more, leaning back into Todd's touch, his weight sagging against Todd as he felt his orgasm build. 

Todd would give another amused rumble, nipping at John's neck with sharp teeth, bringing him crashing over the edge. 

As he came, John bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, the sudden rush overwhelming him for a moment. 

He stumbled back, leaning against the wall, panting hard. His fingers were a slick mess and there was a knot in his stomach that shouldn't be there, not entirely able to believe he'd just gotten off like that. He leaned against the wall for a while, catching his breath and licking the blood off of his lips, before washing himself off and turning off the shower. Dragging himself out of the shower, he found a large towel and dried himself with it, avoiding looking at the mirror, well aware of how dishevelled and guilty he probably looked. 

If he couldn't even meet his own eyes, he'd have fun trying to go back in the meeting and talk calmly to Todd. He'd probably make him even more suspicious and guarded, unable to understand why John was behaving so strangely.

Or worse, he'd know. Todd was a telepath, and John would have to sit in a room with him for hours, trying not to think about getting off to the thought of having him pin him to a wall and bite him. Even if Wraith males didn't read minds clearly, he'd probably realise something was wrong, and Todd was curious and tenacious, a bad combination. 

Sighing, John put his clothing back on and got ready to go face the firing squad.

He just hoped Todd had the decency not to say anything in front of the others. He didn't think he would, but Wraith were strange about certain things. 

At least he'd managed to transfer his anger onto himself.

He could work with that. It wasn't like it was an unfamiliar feeling.


	5. Fixation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John has an ever-expanding list of turn-ons. He hadn't expected thrones being one of them.

One of the main justifications for the Atlantis expedition had been the potential for new discoveries. 

Somehow, John didn't think they'd referred to the new discoveries he'd made about himself and his turn-ons. Being involved with a Wraith had provided him with a lot of those. 

His most recent discovery, as of a couple of minutes before, was that he found Todd ridiculously hot when he was in full scary Wraith Commander mode. He'd never really seen him like that before, and it had him squirming around a bit, trying not to draw attention. They were in the room which held the throne, usually the Queen's command chamber, and there had been other Wraith both in the room and on the display screen, which meant he needed to keep his fantasies down. 

They had all left, though, the screen dark, and Todd was sitting in the throne watching him as though he knew exactly what John was thinking and was pretty pleased with himself. 

The throne increased Todd's intimidation factor sharply, but John wouldn't say he was exactly intimidated. Mostly, he was incredibly turned on. He hoped it wasn't becoming a Pavlovian thing, because that'd make his next fight against Wraith really awkward. 

Sauntering over, John considered climbing into Todd's lap. He was pretty sure he'd be welcome, but it wasn't quite what he wanted to do. He knelt down instead, between Todd's legs, running his hands up the insides of Todd's thighs. He kept his head up, watching Todd's reaction, and began working his hands further up, slowly and steadily. Usually, Todd was the one teasing the hell out of him, and he wanted to return the favour. 

Eventually, he worked his way up to the fastenings on Todd's trousers, fiddling with them a little until he could pull them open. Wraith wore complicated fastenings, seemingly for no reason at all, but he'd gotten pretty good at handling them. He'd had some time to practice. One day, he was going to figure out how Wraith managed with those claws of theirs. He'd have shredded his pants in the process. 

Grinning up at Todd, who was watching him with interest, eyes half lidded, John slipped his hand into Todd's pants, curling his fingers around his cock. He wasn't quite hard yet, but he was obviously enjoying the attention. Pulling the sides of the fly away, John leaned in and licked a wet trail up the length of the cock, grinning again when Todd made a pleased little sound. The Wraith was usually a pretty collected lover, but this always made him a lot more vocal, and John loved that, loved watching Todd's self-control slowly dissolve. It was pretty much the most arousing thing ever, and he didn't get to see it enough. 

He stroked his thumb down the underside of Todd's cock before taking the head into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the tip. At the same time, he snaked his other hand into his own pants, wrapping it around himself and stroking slowly. He didn't want the fun to be over with too quickly, but he was too worked up not to touch himself. He tried to time his strokes with the rhythm he was using on Todd, taking as much of Todd's cock in his mouth as he could manage. 

From experience, he'd learned that he couldn't take all of it. Todd was on the large side, and John was really out of practice. He didn't mind, though. There were plenty of ways to get a partner off with his mouth that weren't deep-throating. For now, he sucked hard for a while, sealing his lips around the shaft, before lifting his head, letting the cock slip from his mouth so he could trace patterns along the shaft with his tongue, stopping every now and then to dip the tip of his tongue into the slit. 

Somewhere along the line, Todd's hand ended up resting on John's head, curling gently into his hair, but he didn't try pulling or shoving John around, just kept his hand there. It felt nice, having the hand there, like reassurance, even if it wasn't needed. 

John smiled and nipped lightly at the underside of the cock. He'd always been told to watch his teeth, but Todd seemed to like it when he got a little rough, which John took advantage of often. He rested his hand on Todd's thigh as he tongued along the ridges, digging his fingers into the thigh. Even without the pants, he wouldn't have done much damage, but the little hiss of pleasure from Todd told him it was appreciated. 

He leaned in and took him into his mouth again, working his head up and down, stroking his own cock in unison with his movement. He might be a little out of practice, but he was quickly remembering what to do, old tips and tricks he'd learned coming to mind. Pressing his tongue against the underside of the cock, he hummed a little, and grinned as Todd's cock twitched in response. 

Wraith stamina was a pretty intimidating thing, but John was having too much fun to care that his jaw was going to ache later. He kept going instead, switching between sucking as much of the cock as he could manage into his mouth and just licking trails all over, every so often nipping gently at the flesh. He loved the feeling of making Todd come apart, the hand on his head twitching occasionally, little growls of pleasure coming from his throat. Like this, he got to feel in charge for once, which made his own cock twitch in pleasure. He didn't mind letting Todd take control most of the time, but it was very nice to know that he could hold his own sometimes. 

Eventually, Todd tugged his hair gently, signalling he was close. He rarely spoke during sex, but that didn't mean he didn't communicate, and John had learned to read him a lot better after they became lovers. John grinned up at him and kept doing what he was doing, his mouth sealed around the head of Todd's cock, tonguing the slit playfully. He appreciated the warning, but he rarely minded getting a mouthful. He could feel Todd pulse in his mouth like that, filling his mouth with come. 

Todd didn't taste like any lover he'd ever had before, the metallic tang a different type, the overall flavour more earthy than salty. It wasn't the best flavour in the world, but it wasn't bad, and John didn't hesitate licking Todd clean, lapping up every drop. At the same time, he picked up his pace, stroking himself faster until he came as well, making a mess on the floor, head slumping against Todd's thigh to catch his breath. 

The hand on his head was stroking his hair now, slow and leisurely, and John leaned into the touch, certain he would have purred if he could. As it was, Todd was purring enough for them both. 

He'd have to get up eventually, but for the moment, there was nowhere he'd rather be right then than kneeling on the floor, listening to Todd's rumbling purr as he came down from his orgasm.


	6. Affirmation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After nearly dying, it's good to affirm that you're alive. 
> 
> This is a short one. Sorry about that.

The sound of the explosive going off was still ringing in John's ears, but at least that meant he was alive. Sore all over, and with a racing heart, but alive. His pulse was almost loud enough in his ears to drown out the ringing, the rapid rhythm of his heartbeat reassuring him that he had survived again. Todd was alive, too, though looking worse for wear, his hearing far better than John's. Considering how much that explosion had hurt John's ears, he was sure it had to have been much worse for Todd.

Fuelled by adrenaline and the need to reaffirm that he was still there, still breathing, John grabbed onto the front of Todd's coat and pulled him close, kissing him as hard as he could manage. Todd made a small, appreciative sound, kissing John back, pushing them against the nearby wall. The sheer strength Todd was capable of never ceased to amaze John, amaze and arouse. He felt almost trapped like that, Todd's weight pressing against him and pinning him to the wall, but it felt so good, and he needed more, needed to feel Todd against him to remind him of what being alive meant. 

He wriggled helplessly against Todd, digging fingers into his back as best he could, pulling him even closer. 

Todd responded by deepening the kiss, pressing his knee up between John's legs until John was practically straddling his thigh, rubbing against him as the kiss went on. 

John could feel the adrenaline fading, as though Todd was draining it from him with his kiss, replaced by a sharp spike of arousal. 

They weren't in a good place to have sex, stuck in the middle of a ruined Wraith lab they'd just blown up, deep beneath the ground in a structure that could come down at any time. They were alone down there, though, the Wraith who had been trying to kill them all gone, and all of John's team still in the village three hours' walk away. They'd taken the jumper to get there, so they were far away from anyone else, and John didn't really care if the building looked about ready to fall down. 

He needed the contact, needed to feel alive, and it felt so good to rub himself all over Todd, thrusting against his thigh. 

He was painfully hard already, his cock straining against his trousers, but he needed more, and he didn't want to pause long enough to take his clothing off. 

Instead, he clung to Todd, rocking against his thigh, burying his face in the Wraith's neck and groaning against his skin. Todd purred against him, his whole body vibrating, long fingers stroking John's neck slowly. He didn't seem to be quite as worked up as John was, but he didn't object to having John pressed against him like he was, apparently quite happy to just touch and stroke John as he rocked against him. 

Danger often had that effect on John, but usually, he had nobody to take him down from the adrenaline high. He had to let it fade on its own, which tended to make him a bit reckless and high-strung in the aftermath of near-death experiences. 

Having Todd there, who didn't seem to mind his need to be touched, to confirm that they were both still alive and that they were going to be fine, had given him another way out. One more pleasant, but a lot more embarrassing. John was beyond caring about embarrassment, though. He needed this too much.

He'd known he wouldn't last, so he wasn't surprised when he came, hips arching up against Todd, drowning out his moans by biting at Todd's coat. Once the aftershocks had died down, he flopped limply against the wall, glad Todd was strong enough to hold him up with ease. He felt sated, sated and alive, and Todd was a solid presence against him. He'd probably regret it in a little while, as he had to get back to the jumper with his pants a sticky mess, but for a moment, he felt like he'd had electric pulses under his skin, like he was flying. 

He wanted to say something, to thank Todd for letting him rock against him like his life depended on it, but he couldn't find the words.

He suspected it didn't matter. Todd probably already knew.


	7. Lockdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killing time in a non-functional transporter.

The advantage of having the ATA gene was that John could tell that something was wrong moments before the lights flickered off and the door failed to open. It didn't do him much good, though. He was still stuck. 

Sighing, he turned on his headset. "McKay?" He asked, scowling at some spot in the darkness surrounding him. "Why did the transporters just go offline?"

"We might have a small malfunction," Rodney replied, sounding completely unaffected by it. "We're working on it. The power should be back in an hour or so. Just relax or something."

"Because being stuck in a transporter with a Wraith is so calming," John said, rolling his eyes. "Can you at least get the backup lighting online? It's pitch black in here."

"That should be easy enough," Rodney replied, and he could hear buttons being pressed in the background. 

The secondary lights flickered on, casting a warm orange glow over the transporter. "Good," John said. "Now fix the rest, too." He only got an indignant noise in reply, which he chose to ignore, and frowned, leaning back against the wall.

"McKay says it'll be an hour before he can get the transporter back online," he said, looking up at Todd, who had been watching him expectantly.

"Ah," the Wraith said, and kept watching John.

John scowled again. "What are we supposed to do in here for an hour? We can't even walk around in this thing. We might as well be stuck in a closet."

Todd grinned at him, baring a lot of very sharp teeth. "I am sure we can think of something. I certainly can." He reached out and caught John's wrist, tugging him closer.

Chuckling, John leaned into him, wrapping his arms around him. It wasn't like the idea didn't have merit. They had an hour to kill and little else to do with themselves. "What if they try contacting me over the headset?" He asked, because that was pretty much his only concern. 

"Ignore them," Todd suggested, burying his face against John's neck, nipping gently at the skin. 

Shifting his head to allow Todd better access, John busied himself unfastening Todd's coat instead, so he could slip his arms up beneath his shirt and run his hands all over Todd's skin. By now, he had a pretty good idea of where to touch for what effect, tracing tattoos and bones for a while before sliding his hands further, rubbing up and down along his spine. It never failed to make him worked up. 

Growling, Todd pulled him closer, pushing his leg in between John's to provide some pressure. Swallowing his gasp of pleasure, John moved against him, slow and rhythmic, digging his fingers into the sensitive spots along Todd's spine. Using his other hand, he opened both their pants and pulled their cocks out, rubbing them together. The slick flesh against his own sent pulses of pleasure all through him, making him arch into the touch further, moving his hand faster. It felt so good. Todd seemed to agree, purring against him, his whole body vibrating. 

Shifting a little, Todd slid his hands down, squeezing John's ass, nails digging lightly into the flesh. 

John made a very pleased sound and pressed closer. "If I'd known we'd get stuck here," he murmured, nuzzling into Todd's hair, "I would have brought some lubricant." The thought of Todd fucking him against the transporter wall, where technically they could get caught at any time, made his cock twitch in his hands. 

"I may have a solution," Todd told him, letting go of John's ass long enough to fish a jar out of an inner pocket of his coat. "This oil was created for use in caring for our coats," he said. "If they are not well-maintained, they offer less protection. However, it has often proved useful for sex, as well." 

"And you just carry it on you?" John asked, incredulously, though he took the jar anyway. He uncorked it and sniffed the contents, stepping back for a moment and trying not to feel the loss of the contact and stimulation too much. The oil was fairly thick and smelled kind of like resin, not an unpleasant smell. 

"I just came from my hive today," Todd explained. "I brought it to replace the one I have almost used up." 

Shrugging, John dipped a finger into the oil and rubbed it slowly between his fingers. It didn't seem to have anything in it he reacted to, and it had apparently already been tested for internal use. Putting the jar away on a ledge for a moment, John pulled his pants and boxers off. He felt a little foolish like that, naked from the waist down, but he didn't want to get his legs caught in his pants. He'd feel way more foolish then. 

Picking up the jar again, he coated his fingers liberally and moved his hand behind himself, pushing a finger inside. The oil made the intrusion easy, and he bit his lip as he worked himself open, adding more fingers as he felt ready. He was well aware that Todd was watching every movement he made. It made him feel flushed, even though it was nothing he hadn't already seen. 

"Think you can hold me up," he asked, grinning at Todd, knowing perfectly well that Todd could hold him up with ease.

The Wraith didn't reply verbally, just picked him up, backing him up against the wall. 

Giving a small groan of pleasure, John wrapped his legs around Todd's waist, the texture and feeling of the coat against his flushed skin very pleasant. He pulled his fingers free and found Todd's cock, guiding him up inside of himself. He gasped louder as Todd pressed into him, the angle causing his cock to scrape against his prostate with every stroke. Grasping wildly, he got hold of the edge of Todd's coat and pulled him closer, tightening his legs around him. 

Todd growled in pleasure and angled his hips upwards, thrusting up into John with barely restrained eagerness. He knew exactly how much force he could use before it began hurting, and John loved every moment of it, loved feeling stretched wide as Todd fucked him. Grinning, Todd wrapped one hand around John's cock, stroking him in pace with his thrusts, leaning forwards to bury his face against John's neck again. 

Once again, John tilted his head to give him better access, shivering happily as Todd traced patterns on his neck with his tongue. 

It didn't take much more longer to come, his mind going white for a moment as his whole body seemed to burst with pleasure. Making a keening sound in the back of his throat, he slumped against the wall, panting, eyes falling shut.

It took Todd a little longer to reach his own orgasm. As he did, he bit down on John's neck, not hard enough to cause real damage but definitely leaving a mark. For a while, it was as though they were locked in place, enjoying the after-shock of their orgasms, before Todd pulled free and put John down. 

John's legs threatened to buckle beneath him as he stood up properly, but they held out, if only just barely. He took a moment to recover before pulling his underwear and pants back on.

"That was a nice way to kill time," he murmured, still leaning slightly against the walls, his orgasm having left him unable to quite trust his legs. 

"It was," Todd agreed, having managed to put himself mostly in order. "Although we still have time to kill, as you say."

Chuckling, John pulled him close and kissed him, hard. "I'm not young enough to get it up again that fast, sadly," he said. "Want to curl up with my tablet instead? I've got Othello installed on it." He'd taught Todd the rules the last time he'd been stuck in the infirmary and Todd had visited him a lot. Not surprisingly, Todd usually won. 

Todd laughed and pulled him to the floor, wrapping an arm around him. 

John leaned into the embrace and propped his tablet on his knees. "You owe me new shirts, by the way. I can't wear anything but turtle-necks any more."

Making a sound that was probably agreement, Todd flickered his tongue over the mark he'd left on John's neck. "It is worth it." 

"Good," John said, smiling as Todd's hair brushed across his shoulder. "Now, do you want white or black?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why Othello? I have no idea. It's less complicated than Go and you can use dark and light stones and draw the grid on the ground, I guess, so it's something John could have played between missions in Afghanistan. 
> 
> Todd is a really good strategist. John might lose the game.


	8. Equidistant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shameless abuse of sub-space communications.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I broke John again. Only a little this time, I promise! *chuckles* 
> 
> I'm probably just making the technology work the way I want it here, but does anyone actually care? Nah.

"Colonel," Woolsey's voice came through the headset, startling John out of his reading. "Todd would like to talk to you."

"Can you get the techs to transfer the call to my laptop?" John asked, because there was no way he was dragging his sorry self up to the control room. Even with the painkillers Carson had given him, his leg hurt, not a sharp pain but a dull, aching throb. He wasn't hurting too much at the moment, but he knew moving would only make it worse, and his laptop had a web-cam and microphone, and was connected to the network.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Todd, not at all, but he'd prefer not having to hurt himself to do so. Besides, he'd much rather talk to him in private.

"Should be possible," Chuck interjected over the headset. "Just give me a moment."

The laptop hummed as it came out of standby, screen flickering on. Before long, a window opened and Todd's face came into view.

"There," Chuck said, sounding satisfied. "Let me know when you're done talking and I'll cut the connection."

"Will do," John promised and tugged the headset off, putting it on his bedside table. He wouldn't need that for a while.

Todd grinned at him, tilting his head a little. "How are you doing?" He asked, eyes flickering to John's propped up leg. "Mr. Woolsey was kind enough to inform he you were hurt, though he did not give any explanation as to how it happened."

John gave him a wry grin. "Probably because he didn't want to embarrass me," he said, chuckling. "We were on a routine exploratory mission and I wasn't watching my step. Must have been raining recently or something, because the ground fell out from beneath my feet and I fell down a steep slope. I'm fine, but my leg is broken, so I'm on bed-rest for a while."

It was the kind of injury Todd would just walk off, but John wasn't quite that lucky.

"I see," Todd said, and it was obvious he was amused.

Honestly, John was perfectly willing to laugh at himself over the whole thing, because it had been a case of him getting hurt because he hadn't been paying attention, nothing else. He was fully aware of that.

"Did you want something in particular or did you just miss me?" John teased, sitting up properly so he could look directly at the screen, the laptop propped on the bedside table. His book was still in his lap, but he'd little interest in it any more, so he bookmarked it and put it to the side.

Grinning again, Todd shook his head slowly. Like many of his more human-like gestures, that was a deliberately chosen motion. "I called to deliver the information I had on some mutual targets," he said. "But I thought it was only right that I should check in on you."

"Glad to hear that," John said dryly, though he was actually pretty glad to talk to Todd. Their weird relationship, however they chose to define it, was often hindered by their respective duties, and he missed Todd when he wasn't around. Much as he liked the new bed, especially when he had to fill it with pillows to keep his leg propped up, it felt empty in a way his tiny one never had. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience you with my human frailty."

"It would be a very sad thing if you were defeated by a slope," Todd told him, the grin still on his face. "Quite embarrassing, would you not say?" He leaned back as he spoke, showing off his surroundings more. He was in the throne chamber again, which John should have guessed, considering that it seemed to be the only chair on the entire ship.

Shaking his head a little, John returned the grin. "Indeed it would." A spark of inspiration made him lean back into his stack of pillows and give Todd his best flirty smirk. "So," he began, drawling. "What are you wearing?" He knew Todd wouldn't get the reference, of course, but he couldn't help himself.

From the look Todd was giving him, he had no idea what John was on about and wasn't impressed by it, either.

Snickering, John gave him a half-apologetic grin. "Sorry," he said. "Couldn't help myself."

"I fail to see how what I am wearing matters any," Todd told him, though he was obviously amused at John's failure at flirting. He usually was.

"It's an old Earth thing," John explained. "People who are separated from their lovers over a long distance will call them up and get each other off over the phone, and the typical starter line in movies and TV shows is always one asking the other what they're wearing."

Chuckling, Todd tilted his head further. "Your people are strange ones, John Sheppard," he said, though he sounded highly amused at the whole thing. "Although, if you wish to play, I am sure we can arrange something." His voice dropped into a purr at the end, sending shivers down John's spine as always.

He knew exactly how to make John react, and he loved teasing him. It wasn't like John minded, though.

"Not like I have anywhere else I need to be," he pointed out, grinning at the screen. His leg was hurting, but it wasn't like he needed his leg to get off. "Want to give it a go?" He waggled his eyebrows at Todd. He was crap at genuine flirting, so he rarely tried. He could do casual, non-serious flirting like he was born to it, and he could exaggerate it easily, but actually flirting with someone he was attracted to was not something he did well. It was a ridiculous thing, too, considering the things Todd and he had done, but that didn't help. 

Todd grinned, showing far too many teeth, and did something, the camera shifting from showing just his upper torso to a view that showed all of him, sitting in his throne like he belonged there, legs slightly parted. "Impress me, John Sheppard," he said, and it sounded like a command. 

John swallowed, a shiver of anticipation running through him. He'd never done anything like this before, but he was bored and confined to his bed, and he was more than a little turned on at Todd and his imperious scrutiny. Shifting as best he could to allow Todd the best possible view, he slowly began stroking his hand along his neck, like Todd always did, rubbing circles against his skin and thinking about cool fingers and sharp claws. It wasn't nearly as nice when he did it himself, but it got the job done, making his senses perk up a little as he lowered his hand further, pinching one of his nipples through his shirt. 

He wasn't that sensitive, but somehow, knowing Todd was watching him touch himself like that made him feel everything stronger than he normally did. He circled the nipple with his thumb, slowly teasing himself into arousal. Once it was hard beneath his touch, he switched to the other nipple, giving it the same treatment.

Peering over at the screen, he could see that Todd had undone his coat and had leaned back further, his legs a bit further apart. 

Smiling, John sat up a bit and grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it to the side, before running his hand across his chest again, splaying it over the feeding scar. He wasn't nearly as good at hitting Todd's buttons as Todd was at hitting his, but he did have a good idea how to get to him. The scar was not sensitive, not any more, but whenever Todd touched it, it always sent shivers throughout him. His own touch did nothing for him, but a quick glance at the screen showed that Todd was paying attention. 

"It's better when you touch me," John murmured, sure that Todd could hear it. It always was.

He ran his hand across his nipples again, scraping his blunt nails across them in an attempt to manage the same spark of arousal as he always got when Todd did that. It wasn't nearly as effective, his nails too short, but it still felt nice. Leaning back a little, he let the hand slide further, down his chest to rest at the hem of his pants. He didn't normally do a lot of teasing when he was just getting himself off, but he didn't usually have an audience either. 

Slowly, he opened his fly, pulling his cock out of his underwear and stroking it lightly. He felt more ridiculous than sexy, but he suspected that was only natural. 

Looking at the screen, Todd was doing much the same, running his long fingers up the underside of his cock, eyes never leaving John. He looked hot as hell like that, and John had to wonder if he felt as stupid as John did. He certainly didn't look it. His eyes were slightly lidded, watching John with eyes that gleamed in the hive ship lighting, and there was hunger on his face. It shouldn't be attractive to have a Wraith look at him like that. 

John slowly picked up his pace, stroking himself faster, trying to pretend it was Todd's fingers on him. They weren't cool enough, not sharp enough, but if he tried, he could almost imagine it anyway. He dug his nails in a little and watched the screen, trying to match his strokes to Todd's.

The Wraith apparently caught on, because he picked up the pace, stroking faster as he ran his thumb across the head of his cock. 

Taking the challenge, John sped up his own strokes, pumping himself in earnest. He was surprisingly close already, feeling his orgasm build up, and it was a complete rush. He tightened his grip, trying to make himself last a little longer. He wanted to come, wanted it badly, but he didn't want for it to be over just yet. 

He was leaking all over his fingers, his grip slick, the slide of his hand almost maddening. Every stroke seemed to send electric bursts though him, making him lift his hips up into his hand as best he could. 

"Sheppard," Todd purred, voice a breathy rasp.

Meeting his eyes, John bucked hard up against his hand and came, come spilling over his hand and onto his stomach. 

Falling back against his pillows, John gasped for breath, turning his head so he could watch Todd. The Wraith was not far behind, his body language giving him off, dragging his thumb down the underside of his cock, nail scraping against the skin. When he came, his whole body seemed to pulse, making him arch a little, and if he hadn't just gotten off himself, John would probably have gotten rock hard at the sight. 

"That was just what I needed," John murmured after a while, smiling at Todd. "You're good at wearing me out." 

Todd chuckled, baring his teeth in a grin. "You have much the same effect on me, John Sheppard. I simply recover faster."

Snuggling into his pillows, John grinned back. "You're ten thousand years old and I'm the one feeling old. Well done." He reached over and pulled some tissues out of his bedside drawer, wiping himself clean. "I really did need that, though. Haven't been sleeping well because of my leg. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be out like a light soon, though."

"You should sleep," Todd agreed, cleaning himself off. "And I should go back to work as well."

John wondered what Todd was doing, exactly, because he had no idea. He missed having him around, but it wasn't like either of them had any demand on the other's time. "I think I will," he said, ignoring the empty feeling that threatened to flow through him. He felt too nice right then to let anything bother him. 

"Sleep well, Sheppard," Todd told him, head tilted again, a small smile on his lips. "You have earned it."

The screen flickered and went dark. 

Sighing, John picked up his headset and signalled Chuck, then put it back down and sank further back into his pillows. Ordering the lights off, he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to claim him. 

It did.


	9. (Im)Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His body is a traitor and his mind can't quite manage to hate it. 
> 
> This one is another that's not in the same continuity as the rest of the series. It's possibly in the same setting as day four was, though. Because sometimes, John Sheppard's issues are too tasty to not play with. 
> 
> This is consensual, but conflicted, in the "I want it but I really shouldn't" way. Just as a warning. There is a mention of Todd licking up John's blood. 
> 
> If some words here are all mixed up, please tell me. I write these late at night and sometimes my language fails.

He'd never really realised how strong Todd actually was. Of course he knew Wraith were strong, but it was one thing knowing something, and it was another thing entirely to experience it first hand. He'd never been in physical combat with a Wraith, not really, which he appreciated now, because Todd had him pinned against the wall with ease, and he hadn't even fed recently.

John shivered, and it wasn't because the old Wraith laboratory was cold, though it was. The shivering had much more to do with the fact that he was effectively immobilized and Todd's fingers were running along his spine, almost a caress, if a potentially painful one. 

He should squirm and try to pull away, even if he had little chance of managing, but he couldn't make himself move. His legs weren't listening and his cock was hard and treacherous, straining against his uniform. 

It wasn't even meant to be arousing, at least not at first. They were chasing one of Michael's hybrids that had somehow eluded treatment, and they'd heard a sudden sound behind them. Todd had grabbed him and pulled him into a chamber, pinning him against the wall out of immediate sight.

Which was when John's sex drive had decided to go haywire, the feeling of Todd's body against him enough to drive him to distraction. Todd was solid. Wraith always looked almost ghostly, pale and kind of ethereal, but when he was pressed against him like that, Todd was a very solid, very real presence, and John was hopelessly turned on. 

The sheer strength in Todd's grip, in his body, made him feel almost helpless. Even if he wanted to get free, he might not be able to, and his cock was twitching at the thought, unbidden and unwanted. 

Todd knew, of course, a master of reading John simply from his reactions. That was why his fingers were on John's spine, stroking slowly, almost gently. He had to know how John liked being touched, and how he craved being touched but had never dared ask. 

Using his other hand, Todd pulled John's arms up over his head, pinning them against the wall, his hand large enough to hold John's wrists in place. 

Again, John shivered beneath him, and again, it wasn't the cold that did it. Moving even closer, pushing John against the wall, Todd leaned in and sent a puff of air across his ear. "You want this," he purred, body rumbling as he did. It wasn't a question, exactly.

It was a choice, freely given. John could say no and walk away unscathed, his pride a little bruised but otherwise fine. He could to find the others, exploring the other side of the laboratories, or he could simply tell Todd no. He didn't want to. His reply was in his lack of action, not in anything he'd said, but Todd smirked against the tip of his ear. 

"Good," Todd murmured, sliding his free hand up John's shirt, letting it roam, his touch hard enough to leave a raised red path, but not enough to pierce skin. 

John tried to bite back his whimper, but didn't quite manage. 

"Quiet, Sheppard," Todd practically purred. "You will draw unwanted attention."

The hybrid could be anywhere, and John couldn't fight like that. Worse, the rest of his team could show up at any time. Shuddering, John clenched his jaw shut, determined not to make more sound, even when the hand up his shirt slipped into his pants, sharp-nailed fingers wrapping around his cock, stroking him hard and fast, the rhythm erratic. John closed his eyes and waited, his body shaking. 

Pressing a remarkably gently kiss against John's neck, Todd made a soothing sound. "Hush," he murmured, and his voice was so gentle in comparison to his touch. "You are doing so well."

Shuddering again, John leaned back against Todd, his breath slowing down, less frantic. Todd rumbled in pleasure, a deep, rich sound, and tugged John free off his pants, still stroking his cock with erratic, powerful motions. 

Like that, John felt almost weightless, as though Todd was holding his body and mind both in place. It hurt, but only because it was too much, too much pleasure building up too fast. 

Todd seemed to know that, letting go of his cock and letting him catch his breath a bit before pressing his legs apart, sliding his hand up the inside of John's thighs, bare now that his pants had fallen down. 

"Hold still," he said, an order, not a request. 

Unable to even find the words to ask, John just did as he was told, standing as still as he could manage as Todd's hand moved away for a moment, coming back slick. He swallowed. He had to trust that Todd knew what he was doing, but his nails were sharp and scary, and they felt even scarier as two fingers were pressed into him, using utmost care not to cut him open. It felt good, very good, but the fear made it impossible to relax. 

As good as it felt, it was a relief when Todd stopped playing with him, freeing his hand and grasping John's hip.

Todd's cock was almost too much as it pushed inside of him, almost enough to send him over the edge immediately, but he managed to hold back somehow, biting down a moan as Todd hit a very good angle, sliding to the hilt inside him. It was so good, the slow burn of his strokes scraping over every sensitive spot again and again, until John's world went white, biting his lip until it bled as he tried to keep from screaming his orgasm to the world. 

Letting John's wrists go, Todd put his other hand on John's hips as well, picking up his pace until he came himself, biting down on John's shoulder as he did. 

John was shivering again, coming down from his endorphin high, his body sore and aching, angry red lines against his skin all over. He was leaning most his weight on Todd, who didn't seem to mind. 

The Wraith was licking the marks he'd left on John, slow and gentle again, before pulling away and turning John over so he could do the same for his split lip. "Perfect," he murmured, over and over, tracing it against John's skin with his fingers. "So perfect."

Nobody ever called him perfect. At best, John was good-looking guy that nobody gave much thought. He wasn't perfect and had never been, and he'd never be. 

Kissing Todd once, hard, until he lost his breath and had to pull free, John tried to take what he could before Todd saw his imperfections. 

Pausing, Todd tilted his head and listened to something only he could hear. 

"The hybrid is coming this way," he warned. "Get ready."

With that, the spell was broken, and reality snapped back into place, so sudden that only the marks on his skin and soreness in his body telling him that had even happened. Before John had managed to pull his pants back up, Todd had already left in pursuit. 

There'd be no answers from him.

Sighing, John pushed everything to the back of his head, wanting to remember. It was worth remembering. 

He pulled out his gun and followed Todd into the darkness.


	10. No Words Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are many ways to communicate when words fail to do the job.

It never ceased to amaze John how tactile Todd was. The Wraith was always touching him, even when they were just hanging out doing something casual. John wasn't sure if it was a Wraith thing or just something specific to Todd, but it wasn't something he'd expected. He definitely didn't mind it, though; Todd's fingers were not exactly gentle, but they were talented, seeking out every sensitive spot on his body and pressing in just right. Despite the sharp claws, he only rarely nicked John with them, and it was usually if something happened to make one of them move unexpectedly. 

Honestly, John loved spending time just getting touched, Todd's hands all over his body, until his knees turned to jelly and his cock was hard and aching. Todd was all too happy to do that, too, driving John to the edge and holding him there. 

At the moment, he had his hands up John's shirt, stroking over his skin in broad patterns, applying extra pressure with his thumbs. John was leaned back into him, eyes closed, enjoying the attention. Much as he loved their urgent, frantic sex when they were worked up and had little time to play, he liked having time to warm up occasionally, too. Sometimes, it was nice to not just jump into the sex. 

He lifted his arms willingly as Todd pulled his shirt up and over his head, tossing it to the side and leaning in to kiss John's neck, tongue flickering out to taste the skin beneath his lips, his hands still roaming over his skin.

One hand slowly slid lower, down his chest to his belly and lower still, the other coming up to cup his jaw, thumb stroking over his face. John opened his mouth and licked the thumb, taking in the earthy taste. 

Behind him, Todd made a rumbling purr in pleasure. Smiling, John angled his head a little, nipping at the thumb, sucking the digit into his mouth. Todd's hand was sensitive, and he liked playing with it. He turned his head further so he could keep licking the other fingers, too, tracing them with his tongue and lips. 

Todd purred again, nuzzling John's neck as he slipped his other hand beneath John's waistband, wrapping long fingers around him, but not stroking yet, just holding him firmly.

Leaving a trail of little kisses, John worked his way down to the palm, flickering his tongue out to trace the edge of the feeding organ. Outside of the genitals, it was probably the most sensitive area on Todd's body, and John knew it so well. Slowly, he dipped his tongue inside the slit, the now-familiar taste of the enzyme on the tip of his tongue. It didn't absorb as well orally as injected into the blood stream, but John still didn't dare play with the feeding organ too long. It wasn't safe. 

He still took his time, though, tonguing the inside of the feeding slit until the enzyme started flowing too freely. When he lifted his head, he lifted an arm as well, tangling it into Todd's hair and turning their heads so he could kiss him. He could feel Todd's heartbeat through the feeding hand, now resting on his neck, and he loved every moment of it. Todd was as hard as he was, and John knew the foreplay had reached its conclusion. Sometimes, they'd just stroke and touch each other until they both came, but he wanted more today, and he was sure Todd did, too. 

It took more willpower than he'd admit to pull away, even if it was just to divest himself of the rest of his clothing and get the lubricant. He crawled onto the bed and uncorked the bottle, giving Todd a meaningful look. The Wraith was still fully dressed.

He seemed to get the point, though, providing John with a very nice view while he stretched himself open, getting nice and slick, his other hand lazily stroking his cock. 

They rarely spoke much during sex, but they never seemed to have a problem communicating anyway. Todd gave very good non-verbal cues and John was pretty sure the Wraith read his mind and his reactions with equal skill. At least his surface thoughts, and during sex, those tended to be vivid and kinky.

Todd certainly didn't seem to mind. 

He watched John's preparations for a while, his eyes remarkably dark beneath his pale lashes, head slightly at an angle. John loved it when Todd watched him like that. There was a large power discrepancy between the two of them, and it was definitely in Todd's favour, but when Todd watched him with such clear desire and need on his face, John knew he was far from powerless, and that Todd didn't want him to be. He wanted a partner who could challenge him, and John loved doing that, especially outside the bedroom. Inside, he didn't mind Todd taking the lead, but he liked to remind them both that Todd wasn't in charge only because he was stronger and more powerful; he was in charge because John wanted him to be.

Pulling his hand free, John grinned up at Todd, a hungry and eager grin, and rolled over, getting on his hands and knees on the bed. The slow build-up was nice, but he wanted more now, and that position meant that Todd had a lot more control over angle and speed. He rarely disappointed. 

Making a very pleased, rumbling sound, Todd got onto the bed, grabbing John by the hips. His hands were large enough to cover a lot of skin, holding John still as he pushed into him.

John gasped and pressed back against him, digging his fingers into the bedding. It felt almost too much, but only almost, his body already wound up after the build-up. Todd was very good at reading that, too, knowing exactly how rough he could be with John at any time. 

Right then, he could be rough, nails digging into John's hips as he set a fast, sharp pace, his thrusts deep and angled. 

Normally, John was not particularly vocal in bed, but he was so close to coming already and with that angle, Todd was brushing over his prostate constantly. It was a bit overwhelming, and he couldn't quite hold back the gasps and groans that he normally held in. Todd seemed to like the noises John was making, leaning in to press a kiss between John's shoulder blades, without losing his pace at all. 

Bent like that, Todd's weight meant that every thrust went even deeper, and it was too much for John, his cock twitching and pulsing as he came. His arms gave out and he flopped forwards, burying his face in the bedding, his body trembling as the orgasm flooded through him. 

Todd hissed in pleasure and kept his pace for a while, nails still digging into John's hips, until he reached his own orgasm, his own hips snapping forwards a last time as he shuddered, a growl in his throat. Slowly, he loosened his grasp on John's hips and let go, pulling out with a lot more care and gentleness than he had pushed in with. 

Still catching his breath, John rolled over onto his back, boneless against the soft mattress. He felt completely worn out, in the best way possible, sore and tired and messy, and he loved every moment of it. Todd curled up around him, pulling him close and purring at him, which only made things better. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a lover he felt so relaxed with, which should be stranger than it felt. Todd was a Wraith, after all, but he was a Wraith John knew. He couldn't always trust him to do what John wanted, not outside of the bedroom, but he could trust him to have a reason for everything he did, and enough of a sense of loyalty to explain himself at least to a certain extent. John didn't have to lie to him, either, not like he'd had to with Nancy and every other lover he'd had, when he couldn't talk about what he was doing. Todd already knew.

For one thing, he was a telepath, and John was convinced he was a better one than he told them. 

For another, they'd been doing this for a while, now. Todd had seen him on bad days, when there were nightmares and bad memories. He had his own share of nightmares and bad memories, and John was pretty sure they were worse than any of his.

John never had nightmares with Todd curled around him after sex, though, and he hadn't noticed Todd having any either. 

That had to be significant enough for them both.


	11. A different kind of trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His life has literally been in Todd's hands before. Surely his trust can be laid there, too?
> 
> This one isn't in either continuity, because my brain runs of in a million different paths at once. I think this might be a prequel to [Trust Issues](http://archiveofourown.org/works/662988), perhaps. 
> 
> This one has dom/sub themes, though fairly mild ones. Still, felt I should give you a heads up.

He had hesitated at first, when presented with the collar, but the ring had become a source of comfort for John. It was slim enough that he could wear it beneath turtle-neck shirts without it being immediately noticeable, and the feeling of it around his neck made him feel inexplicably safe. Whatever it was made from, it was the same material as Todd's coat, the same familiar smell, but the inside was lined so it felt soft against his skin. 

It was not something John wore outside often, still not quite ready for that, but he often wore it in his quarters when he was alone. 

He hadn't seen Todd since the Wraith had put the collar on him. He'd asked for time, and Todd had given him time, letting him adjust to what the collar symbolized. It wasn't something he was willing to jump into without considering it. 

It would seem his time was just about up, though. Todd was coming to Atlantis to discuss cooperation, and John was pretty sure he expected an answer. He deserved an answer. 

Looking at the collar in his hands, John ran his thumb across the surface. He already knew what his answer was going to be. If he was to be honest, he'd always known what his answer was going to be. It had just taken him a while to come to terms with it. He wasn't used to the idea of being able to have something like that. 

Slowly, carefully, he put the collar around his neck, securing it in place, tight enough that he could feel it, but not so tight it restrained his breathing. He pulled the turtle-neck collar on his shirt over it, folding it to hide the outline before getting to his feet and walking to the meeting, head held high. The scent of not-quite-leather felt familiar and comforting. 

John spent most of the actual meeting torn between fidgeting and yawning, somehow managing to avoid doing either of the two. Woolsey meant well, but he had no sway with Todd, especially not because he let his fear show, which only made Todd bait him further. If they wanted a negotiation on equal terms, they should send Sam to do it. Todd responded much better to female authority figures. Watching Woolsey try was a bit of a verbal cat and mouse game. It wasn't that Woolsey wasn't good at his job, he was, but ever since the Daedalus, he had been frightened around Todd, and it was evident in his body language. 

Eventually, they were let out of the meeting, after there had been a lot of talk and not a lot of concessions by either side. Todd was not being unreasonable, but he was also not willing to just give them whatever they wanted without some compensation, and he was a hard negotiator. 

Suppressing a shiver, John tried not thinking about that, because he had his own negotiations with the Wraith to consider. He expected they'd have more of a result than these ones had. 

He headed back to his room, well aware that Todd was following him. He always knew, like there was a presence in the back of his mind. It didn't seem like anyone else noticed, but for once, John wasn't too concerned with that. He should be, because Todd being able to get around the guards so easily was not a good thing, but he'd look into it later. 

Entering his room, he stood to the side and let Todd inside, making sure the door was locked behind him. 

Todd stopped in the middle of the room, just watching him, an unreadable expression in his yellow eyes. 

"If we do this," John told him, walking over so he could stand in front of him, placing himself well within range of his feeding hand, "it will only be like this, when we're off duty and alone. You asked me to give myself over to you. Atlantis is not part of the negotiation."

"I do not want Atlantis," Todd said. "I have no need of the city, and little of its inhabitants."

He sounded sincere, but Todd was hard to read and that made it difficult to deal with him. John was pretty sure he was genuine, though, because he had more to gain from that. Todd was clever like that; he never lied when the truth was a more precise tool. 

"Why me?" John asked, looking up at Todd. He wanted to know what Todd was getting from this that he couldn't have gotten as easily from another Wraith.

The Wraith tilted his head, eyes never leaving John. "Ever since we first crossed paths, I have found it hard to stop thinking about you. I cannot bond to you as I would another of my kind, but we can both have this. Both crave it, in fact."

That much was true. John wanted Todd to claim him, wanted to let go and trust someone to be there to catch him. He had no idea how that someone had become Todd, but he wanted him nonetheless. Looking back, John's relationships had always followed a pattern. He was drawn to partners who had strong personalities and who naturally took control. Nancy had been like that, naturally taking the lead and making decisions, but she had been hesitant to completely take control, and John didn't blame her. He was a lot to take responsibility for, a lot of baggage wrapped up in flesh, and she had not been the right person to take control of that. 

Todd might just be, though, older than modern human civilization and dominant to the core, at least with other males. He was everything John wanted wrapped up in a dangerous, lethal package, and it was irresistible. 

"If I submit to you, what can I expect?" John asked, trying not to fidget under Todd's scrutiny. He wasn't normally intimidated by Todd at all, but this was different, the air charged with a different sort of danger. 

"I am demanding," Todd told him, voice calm but eyes burning. "I will take control of you, and I will be stern where I see fit. I am old and stubborn, and set in my ways." His eyes met John's, holding them. "But I will not hurt you unless you desire it, and I will not punish you unjustly. You have earned my respect, and this does not change that. Submission does not make you any less than me."

Shivering a little, John stepped a little closer. "And if I have complaints or concerns?" 

"You will tell me, and I will listen. If I ever treat you wrong, that is on me. We enter this agreement as equals, and you are free to dissolve our agreement at any time." It was unusual to hear Todd talk that much. Wraith weren't usually that talkative, not verbally.

John nodded and tugged his shirt collar down, showing Todd the collar beneath, circling his throat. "I already made my choice. I just had to be certain." 

"And you are?" Todd asked, voice slightly edged now. 

"Yes." John was surprised at how much conviction he managed to put into that single syllable. 

Making an appreciative sound, Todd reached out and ran his hand along John's jawline, tracing down his neck until his thumb was stroking circles over the collar. He'd never touched John like that before, and John was surprised at how good it felt with those sharp claws against his skin. 

"Undress for me, John," Todd purred, and John found himself pausing, because Todd never used his first name only, presumably because he couldn't growl it. 

Looking up at Todd, who didn't seem like he'd wait long for John to obey, John shimmied out of his shirt, tossing it in the direction of his hamper. He bent down to unlace his boots and kicked those off, undoing his pants on the way so he could step out of them and his underwear both. 

Stroking the back of his fingers along John's cheek, Todd smiled at him. "Very good," he praised, hooking his fingers in the collar to tug John a little closer.

"Would you like it if I leashed you, I wonder," he said, baring his teeth in a slow grin.

John shivered again at that, his cock twitching a little. 

"I will take that as a yes," Todd chuckled. "If I ever do something you do not like, you will tell me. You will tell me if there is something I need to take slowly. I will take care of you, but you must tell me if I do something you cannot accept. Do you understand."

Nodding vigorously, John looked up at Todd. The Wraith hadn't said he could speak, and he wasn't ready to push his luck right then. 

Todd purred, pleased at John's obedience. "Good. Step forwards."

Feet moving almost on their own accord, John did. 

Todd kissed him, hard and determined, biting gently at John's lips until they were swollen, tongue slipping into his mouth. 

"Your mouth is warm," Todd said, sounding very pleased. "Show me what you can do with it, and I shall consider letting you climax tonight." 

John dropped to his knees, unlacing Todd's pants and pulling his cock out, sucking the head into his mouth, using his fingers to provide extra stimulus. He hadn't done that in a long time, but he loved the feeling of bringing his lovers pleasure. He'd always enjoyed performing oral sex on his partners, and Todd was no exception. The Wraith's cock was bigger than most of John's lovers had been, the strange ridges providing a very interesting texture against his tongue. His skin was darker there than on the rest of him, darkest at the tip, and John was pretty sure he could spend forever exploring all the best places to touch and lick. 

Pulling back a little, he swirled his tongue around the head, dipping the tip into the slit, and was rewarded with Todd's hand cradling the back of his head, just resting there for the moment, but ready to provide directions if needed. John smiled and leaned into his task, alternating sucking and licking Todd's cock, using his fingers as backup. He couldn't take too much of the cock into his mouth without choking, but he did his best to compensate using his tongue and lips. 

Todd's hand tightened in his hair eventually, his cock pulsing in John's mouth as he came. Instinctively, John swallowed as much of the come as he could, licking his hand and Todd's cock clean. 

Tugging John to his feet with ease, Todd pulled him over to the bed, making him sit in his lap, reaching down to stroke John's cock, dropping kisses along John's neck. "You did very well," he purred, pressing his fingers just a little harder against John's cock. "So very good. You've earned this." 

It didn't take John long to come at all, bucking helplessly into Todd's hand. Todd lifted the hand to John's lips and let him lick it clean, using his other hand to stroke his back all the while. He shifted, pulling John with him, lowering him down until John was curled against him, head on his thigh. 

"Sleep, John," Todd told him, stroking his hair. "I will stay with you."

Suddenly exhausted, even if it wasn't that late, John wriggled into the sheets and closed his eyes, falling asleep to the slow rhythm of Todd stroking his hair, a warm pleasant feeling in his stomach.


	12. Undone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Few things are more rewarding than watching your lover come undone.

It would never cease to amaze John that there were people who thought oral sex was demeaning for the performer. Of course it could be, but that was a different problem all together and could just as easily apply to any other kind of sex. He knew a lot of men who scoffed at the thought of performing oral on their girlfriends, much less at men who willingly sucked another guy's cock, like it meant anything in the long run.

John was pretty sure they didn't understand oral sex, and should be glad their girlfriends didn't heat them talking like that. The way he saw it, if a guy put his cock in someone's mouth, he was pretty much handing them a way to hurt him. 

His own teeth might not be as sharp as his lover's, but he could still do damage if he wanted to. 

Not that he did. He loved giving blow jobs, especially since it was one of the few times he ever got to see Todd give up control, if only for a little while. It was an amazing sight, to have him pressing up against John, purring and arching his back. It was one of the most arousing things he'd ever seen, and he could do this forever. 

Or until his jaws stopped working, at least. 

He'd gotten better at the blow job thing, too, able to take more of Todd's cock into his mouth and learning all the best ways to use his tongue and fingers to bring him off, whether quickly or slowly. At the moment, he wanted to draw it out, wanted to see how far he could take it before Todd took control back. He loved seeing Todd squirm, and it wasn't something he often got to see, so when he had the chance, he wanted to prolong it as long as he possibly could. 

Moving his hand, he let it slide up the inside of Todd's thigh, cataloguing every response. It seemed pretty effective, so he rubbed his fingers in circles as he lowered his head, taking as much of Todd's cock in his mouth as he could, bobbing up and down. His gag reflex was not particularly strong, which was good, but there was a bit too much of Todd's cock to take more in. At least he didn't have to worry nearly as much about his teeth with Todd. The Wraith liked it when he nicked him with them, which wasn't all that surprising. 

One of the first things he had learned about Todd as a lover; he was kind of bitey, and liked it when John bit him back. 

In general, there was very little John had done in bed that Todd had shown any sign of disliking. There were things he liked more than others, but he'd yet to find anything that had caused Todd to actually stop him. It made him more willing to try things. 

Considering the options, John grinned around his mouthful and switched hands, his right hand slick with saliva and precome. It was easy to slide it beneath them, following the curve of Todd's ass before dipping into the cleft.

Looking up, John tried to read Todd's reaction. The Wraith didn't seem to have a problem with what John was doing, so he took that as a cue to keep going. He wasn't about to try pushing his luck too much; there was giving up control and there was giving up all control, and Todd didn't seem the type for the latter, but John sometimes slid his fingers up inside himself when he was masturbating and it felt good. He wondered if it would feel like that for Todd, too, the added sensation a nice little treat. 

When he pressed his finger inside, Todd made a low, rumbling sound, but he gave no impression of wanting John to stop what he was doing, so John pulled back to swirl his tongue around the head of his cock, lavishing attention on it as he pushed his finger deeper, watching as Todd dug his hand into the bedsheets. Those would probably have to be replaced, but it was completely worth it. 

Swiping his tongue up Todd's frenulum, he pulled back for a moment, fumbling around for the lube. Saliva only did the job so far. He uncorked the bottle and coated his fingers, leaning back in to swallow the cock again, bobbing his head rhythmically, trying to match it up with the pace his finger was keeping. 

Todd purred, the hand not dug into John's sheet coming to rest on his head, fingers winding into his hair and holding on. 

If anyone had told John before that he'd get off on having his hair pulled, he'd have wondered about them. It was a turn-on, though, Todd's strong fingers laced into his hair, which was barely long enough to get a decent grip on. Humming, John pressed another finger up into Todd, curling them up to press against the walls more precisely. 

From the way it made Todd twitch, hips lifting slightly, their anatomy wasn't so different that prostate stimulation wasn't viable. Good. 

He kept rubbing his fingers like that, pausing ever now and then to scissor them, his eyes constantly on Todd's face, taking in every reaction and treasuring them. It was rare to see Todd let his guard down at all, and right then, he looked as though he'd let go completely. 

It was an amazing show of trust, considering how paranoid Todd could be, and it left a warm feeling in John's stomach as he bobbed his head faster, wanting to make Todd come more than ever before. His own cock was hard, twitching against his stomach, but he didn't even care. He sucked harder, tongue pressed against the underside of Todd's cock-head, cheeks going hollow as he did. 

He was very good at reading Todd's body language by now, and he could pinpoint the exact moment he tipped over the edge, pulling his head back a bit so he wouldn't choke as he got a mouthful of come. Swallowing it was automatic. It was something he'd always wanted to do, but he'd never been with a male lover long enough to feel safe. That was a definite advantage of Todd being Wraith. His healing prevented disease from being a concern. Nothing lasted long against the Wraith immune system. 

Lapping up the mess he'd made, John grinned lazily up at Todd, feeling pretty smug about having such an effect on someone who'd been alive when sabre-toothed cats had walked Earth. 

Meeting his eyes, Todd grinned slowly, his breathing visibly faster than normal. "Do not look so pleased with yourself, Sheppard," he said, showing a lot of teeth. "You will get your turn next."

It sounded like both a threat and a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Fingering
> 
> Todd's nails made this prompt more difficult. :P


	13. Promise Kept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Todd said he'd get John back he meant it. John is entirely all right with that. 
> 
> More or less a direct sequel to the previous one. Next day, or something.

He wasn't sure why he'd thought he'd get away that easily. Wraith were fast, ridiculously so. Not necessarily while running, but burst speed was largely based on how hard someone could push away from the ground, and Wraith were very good at that. John had barely managed to move at all before he was knocked over, pinned and unable to move.

He gasped as the air was knocked out of him, squirming against the roaming hands. 

Laughing hurt when he couldn't breathe. 

""I can't breathe when you're on my chest," he said, trying to free a hand to push Todd to the side. 

The Wraith didn't want to comply, but he shifted his weight so John could actually breathe without worrying about choking. 

John grinned up at him. "Better," he said. "What are you going to do now that you've caught me?"

Todd returned the grin, all sharp teeth and glowing eyes. "I am going to devour you," he informed him. "And you will beg me not to stop." 

Suppressing a shiver, John gave him his best challenging stare. It wasn't unusual for Todd to make such statements, and he was usually right. John didn't mind that, but he liked making Todd work for it. "You better start, then," he said. "Because right now, I'd rather take a nap."

Making a sharp, amused sound, Todd moved, so he was straddling John's hips rather than his chest, and bent down, kissing John hard. He was a forceful kisser, which wasn't a surprise at all considering that he was practically a force of nature when there was something he wanted. John enjoyed that, though, enjoyed the way he came away from their kisses breathing hard, his lips puffy and swollen, feeling bruised from the kiss. He used his teeth, to, lightly nipping at John's lower lip but never quite breaking the skin, though he easily could have. 

Moving on, he trailed kisses and light bites both down John's neck, pausing to tongue the pulse point. At the same time, he placed his hands at John's waist, stroking broad patterns up and down his torso. It felt nice, and John knew he was just getting started. Todd was very tactile and very thorough, and incredibly intense, and being on the receiving end of his attention like this was always a thrill. He always ended up exhausted in the best way possible and feeling like tension had been drained out of him. There was something very flattering about it, too, because he was sure there weren't that many people Todd paid attention to like that. 

From the neck, Todd moved on to the collar bones, tracing them with his tongue, occasionally nipping lightly at the skin covering them before moving down further, to lavish attention on the feeding scar on John's chest, tracing it with his tongue, leaving wet trails between the smaller claw scars and the larger central one. John was a little self-conscious about those scars, but he didn't mind letting Todd see them. He'd been the one who left them there, anyway, as though to cement their inevitable faith. 

That didn't stop his heart from speeding up, and Todd looked up at him, head tilted, no doubt listening to his heartbeat. 

"You know I will stop if you tell me to do so, Sheppard," he said, proving his point by freezing in place. 

John did know that. Todd never pressured him into anything. Truthfully, he didn't have to. John was normally pretty adventurous in bed, and liked trying things, even if they didn't always work out. "I know," he said, smiling at the Wraith. "I don't want you to stop. I just got a little worked up, that's all. You're gonna have to try harder to make me beg, though."

Todd made a small purr. "I have not yet begun to get you 'worked up'," he said, mouth widening into a razor-sharp smile. "I am merely warming you up."

"I'm warm enough," John said, his smile turning into a teasing grin. "Warmer than you, anyway. Bring it."

In retrospect, that was probably not the smartest thing to say to a Wraith. They were fiercely competitive at best. Todd rumbled and leaned back in, biting the skin of John's stomach hard enough to leave a mark. That was going to bruise. One of his hands was playing idly with John's nipples, rubbing them slowly and pausing every now and then to scrape his claws across them, switching between the left and the right one. His other hand was on John's thigh now, slowly sliding up and down. 

Backing further up, Todd leaned down and swiped his tongue briefly along the length of John's cock, cool and wet and ridiculously agile. John's cock twitched under the attention. Purring, Todd repeated the motion, lingering slightly longer at the head this time, tracing the edges with his tongue. 

Shivering again, John tried to keep from bucking up against him, though he didn't quite manage. As he did, Todd's hair brushed his hard cock, making him shiver even harder. Todd was all too good at teasing him, and he fully expected to be begging at some point that night.

He wasn't going to give in easily, though. 

Todd wrapped his hand around John's cock and stroked him slowly, pulling it up against John's stomach so he could kiss the underside, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. John bit back an exclamation and thrust up into the hand. 

Purring, Todd stroked him a few more times and then let go, pulling back. 

John looked up at him, dazed at the sudden absence of stimulation. "Wha?"

"Turn over, Sheppard," Todd ordered, eyes glinting.

Doing as he was told, John rolled over and his breath hitched a little as his hard cock pressed against the sheets.

"Very good," Todd told him and knelt between his spread legs, leaning over him to bite at his neck again, hands rubbing against John's shoulders, pressing into the muscle and dispelling knots of tension. He was remarkably good at that, finding the exact spot to dig into and make him squirm and pant. Getting a massage wasn't normally such a turn-on, but he normally didn't get them while achingly hard either. 

Once satisfied with his work on John's shoulders, Todd moved on, hands sliding slowly down John's sides until they came to his ass, kneading and groping. That felt really nice, too, though far more about getting him worked up than about releasing tension. Of course, the two were often related. 

Shifting his position again, Todd moved further back so he could lean down and bite John's ass. Not very hard, but hard enough to leave a bruise later. John bit back a moan and squirmed a little, only to grind his cock into the sheets and working himself up even more. Behind him, Todd chuckled and pressed his thumbs into the flesh under his hand, parting John's ass cheeks. 

John froze for a moment. They'd learned that it was possible for Todd to loosen him up with a lot of patience and care, but normally it was much easier for John just to do that himself. If that was what Todd was thinking, it was best he stayed still. 

Todd had other ideas, though, and John yelped as Todd licked him. That was not something anyone had done to him before. It didn't feel bad, exactly, just new and strange, and he couldn't quite shake the idea that it was kind of filthy, even if there was no reason it should be. Todd didn't seem to think so, though, or if he did, he didn't care. He lapped at the skin and the puckered hole, and it actually felt really good once John got over the initial shock. Occasionally, Todd would flicker his tongue down across the flesh between John's balls and his cock, which only made it better. The constant, unpredictable stimulation was making him squirm again, pressing back into Todd, biting his lip to keep from moaning. 

His mind might not know how to feel about it, but his body was very much on board with it, his cock twitching helplessly into the sheets as Todd used his tongue and fingers in unison to work him open. It felt amazing and John knew that the moment he opened his mouth, he'd be begging.

He felt open, which was a strange feeling, strange but good, and he needed more. 

When Todd purred against him, sending vibrations throughout him, and snaked a hand up underneath him to gently stroke John's cock a few times, that was enough to make John meet his limit. "

"Please," he murmured, licking his lips. They'd been swollen enough from Todd's kisses. Him biting them had only made it worse. "I need more. Please!" 

The reply he got wasn't verbal; Todd stroked his back soothingly as he shifted his weight, leaning over to get the lube from the bedside table.

The lube was cold when it dripped onto his flushed skin, and John bit back a yelp, lifting his head to glare half-heartedly at Todd over his shoulder.

Making an amused sound, Todd rubbed the lube around, gently pressing it into John, mindful of his nails. They both knew John didn't need that much more preparation, so he didn't prolong it. He'd gotten what he wanted, more or less. Instead, he pulled his hand back and coated his own cock.

Lifting his hips a little, John lowered his head back onto the bed, holding his breath in anticipation.

Todd pushed into him in a single smooth motion, holding still for a moment to let John adjust before beginning to move, quickly picking up his pace. His hands were on John's hips again, digging into his skin, and John was pretty sure he was going to be sore as hell the next day, and it was going to be entirely worth it. 

He pressed back into every thrust as best he could, wanting more. "Please," he murmured again, clenching around Todd. "Please." He wasn't entirely sure what he wanted, but he knew he wanted more of it. 

Apparently, Todd knew what he needed because he changed the angle slightly, picked up the pace and wrapped his fingers around John's cock, stroking steadily.

John arched into the thrusts, digging fingers into the bedding as pleasure burst through him, his orgasm taking him off guard. The sudden rush made him feel like his stomach had dropped out, and he slumped forwards, panting and murmuring Todd's name like a prayer. 

It only took a little while longer before Todd was coming as well, his pacing growing erratic as the orgasm washed through him. He held still for a while, then pulled free, dropping onto the bed and curling himself around John. He did that a lot after sex.

Pressing back into Todd's solid presence, John certainly didn't mind. Todd had plenty of annoying habits, but his tendency to spoon John when they shared a bed wasn't one of them. 

"Night," John muttered, because his brain felt kind of fried still and he always felt sleepy after sex, even if it was still only evening. 

Todd didn't reply in words, but he curled closer into John and wrapped his arms around his waist. He didn't sleep much, but he usually stayed with John anyway. 

Falling asleep to a purring Wraith was fast becoming John's favourite thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rimming
> 
> I didn't have any idea how to write this and it's still one of the longer chapters...


	14. One Good Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One good turn deserves another.
> 
> Let's have a change of scenery!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small announcement!
> 
> I will be scrambling the order up a bit because I have a really good idea for the "in public place" one and I want to give it the attention it deserves, so I'm postponing writing that until Wednesday evening or Thursday, when my Easter vacation starts. You'll still get your daily chapters, you're just getting "on the floor" and "morning lazy sex" before the "in public place" one. 
> 
> Just in case you're looking at the list.
> 
> (Also, I'm currently a day ahead on these, though I hope to make it two days ahead again soon, and I just wrote day fifteen. Halfway there!)

As a general rule, they spent far more time on Atlantis than on Todd's ship. Todd just had a lot more reasons to be hanging around the city than John had for hanging around on a hive ship. He didn't mind getting the chance, though. Having Todd as a solid ally let them have another space ship to use rather than depending on having the Daedalus around. Granted, the Daedalus was technically faster, since it had a intergalactic drive, but it was also a lot smaller and more crowded.

John couldn't remember ever seeing a crowded hive ship. They had a capacity of thousands, and most hives weren't that big. Todd's hive was maybe two hundred, though he couldn't tell exactly. A good few of them were masked warriors, and John couldn't really tell those apart. 

It was kind of nice hanging around a hive ship without being worried about being fed on for once. He wasn't due to be there long, only as long as it took to ferry him back to Atlantis, but there was enough time for some exploration at least. It kept him from hanging out on the bridge and getting on Kenny's nerves. At least he suspected he did, though the Wraith hid it well. There was something about his attitude towards John that made him think Kenny wanted him anywhere else immediately, though.

Of course, by anywhere else, Kenny had probably not meant Todd's quarters, which was where John was currently hanging out.

Todd's quarters were nice, actually, spacious and neatly decorated, with an actual window in the sitting area. John had been looking out the window, but they were in hyperspace, and hyperspace was boring. He'd moved on to poking things and hoping they wouldn't eat him. 

He was fairly sure the thing he was looking at was a kind of cactus, or perhaps a mushroom with spikes. It seemed spongy, like a mushroom, but it was growing in what looked to be rocky sand and it had some pretty impressive spikes. It was also glowing, a pale blue-green colour. It looked dangerous.

Behind him, the door hissed open, letting Todd into the room before closing with a disturbingly organic sound.

"Sheppard?" Todd asked, apparently following his line of sight. "Is something bothering you?"

"Nah," John assured him, turning to give him a grin. "Just admiring your biologically confused flora." 

"Ghostthorn," Todd said, pulling his coat off and hanging it up. "It is a mushroom indigenous to several worlds in the galaxy. It is highly toxic, but a tincture made from it is a common treatment for heart conditions. It is widely grown on many worlds, including one inhabited largely by worshippers."

Heart medication from toxic sources was hardly unheard of. John's grandmother had taken foxglove-based medication for years. It was a pretty strange thing to find in a Wraith room, though.

"It was a gift from one of the worshippers that tend to our Clan," Todd explained, reaching out and tapping the flowerpot lightly. The spikes puffed out in response. "I have no idea why she wanted to give it to me, but she was a young child at the time, and their logic is not always meaningful to anyone but children." 

As weird a gift as a toxic mushroom with spikes was, the image of some little girl holding up a flowerpot to a big scary Wraith was a pretty adorable mental image. He chuckled and turned around, wrapping his arms around Todd and kissing his nose. He was feeling a little silly, he guessed, but Todd didn't appear to mind. He just made a pleased sound and placed his hand against the small of John's back, pulling him a little closer. 

"You are affectionate today," Todd murmured, pressing a light kiss against John's lips. 

"Guess I missed you," John replied, leaning into Todd happily. "I'm used to having a lot more to do with myself. I get restless, and I can't annoy Kenny all day." Theoretically he could, but he was pretty sure it'd get him in trouble. Kenny was actually pretty even-tempered for a Wraith, but he probably had his limits, and besides, John didn't really mean to annoy him. He had no reason to do so. 

Todd chuckled. "He is not truly annoyed with you," he said. "If he was, you would know. He simply resents us playing transporting service for your expedition. Although I think it would ease his annoyance if you ceased calling him 'Kenny'." 

"I can't do the psychic thing," John pointed out, looking up at Todd. "I have to use something to differentiate between you and I doubt he'd appreciate it any more if I took to referring to him as 'triangular squiggles guy' or something."

"No, I cannot imagine he would be," Todd agreed, clearly amused. "Though I may just have to suggest that to him now."

It was John's turn to chuckle. "So what am I supposed to call him?" He asked, grinning. 

"You should ask him," Todd said, returning the grin. "It is only polite."

John laughed. "Yeah," he said, shaking his head. "I'll ask him later. I've better things to do right now." 

"Oh?" Todd asked, looking at him, head tilted a little. 

"Yeah," John said, grabbing onto Todd's shirt and pulling him in for a kiss. 

It had been awkward to start with, their kissing, because Wraith didn't necessarily kiss, and had far too sharp teeth, and John wasn't used to kissing taller people than himself, but they'd learned how to handle themselves eventually. Even now, John was pretty sure he got more out of their kissing than Todd did, but the Wraith clearly didn't mind kissing him, and John rather liked the occasional nip from sharp teeth and the contrast between their heights and textures. 

"Let's go to bed," he said, tugging at Todd's shirt. He had no idea what time it actually was, because it was hard to keep track of time on a spaceship and he wasn't wearing his watch, but it wasn't as though he meant to go to bed to sleep. He was pretty sure Todd knew that. 

Todd's bedroom was nice. Not particularly large, but the bed was massive. It was more of an alcove than a bed, with a canopy much like the one in the darts, and it held a lot of blankets and furs. It seemed made for curling up in, which John was all too happy to do, stripping off his clothing until he was completely naked and then wriggling into the soft bedding and watching happily as Todd did the same. He'd never get tired of watching Todd remove his layers and reveal the pale green skin beneath. There was such a contrast between the back and the pale green, and it made the visual appeal of it even better.

Todd joined him on the bed once he was done undressing, pretty much pulling John into his lap so he could touch him again. His tactility kept surprising and delighting John, loving the feeling of Todd's fingers stroking over his skin, seeking out all the spots were he was most sensitive. Todd was good at that, too, and it never took him long to have John squirming around in pleasure. Not that John minded, not at all, but it always seemed a little unfair. 

Not that there weren't ways to make Todd squirm, too. It just took more work. John grinned and leaned in to kiss Todd, biting lightly at his lower lip, tracing Todd's lips with his tongue, before pulling away and moving down. Still grinning, he looked up at Todd and gave him a pointed look before leaning in to put his tongue to good use. If Todd was going to get him all worked up like that, John wanted to return the favour. 

He'd just gotten into it when Todd reached down and lifted his head up, interrupting. 

"Something wrong?" John asked, surprised. Todd rarely stopped him from anything in bed.

"No," Todd assured him. "I just want you to move a bit." 

John wasn't certain what Todd was up to, but he didn't mind letting him arrange him for a while, until they were lying facing each other's cocks. 

Oh.

Most of the time, if there was oral sex involved, it was down to John, mostly because Todd had teeth like a shark and John was pretty attached to his cock. He knew Todd was aware of his limitations, he just couldn't avoid being a little nervous with those teeth near sensitive parts. Still, Todd might have scary teeth, but he also had an amazing tongue and very talented fingers, and it wasn't like that didn't appeal to him.

Wriggling forwards, he took the head of Todd's cock in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. The angle was a little awkward, but not extremely so, and he did love doing this, making Todd squirm as much as Todd made him do so. 

He made a little gasp of pleasure as Todd curled his fingers around the base of his cock and licked a path up the underside, with broad swipes of his cool tongue. Blow jobs might not be part of the typical Wraith sex arsenal, but Todd was a very fast learner when he wanted to be. It didn't help that his tongue was capable of moving in ways that John had no chance of replicating, either. 

Shifting a little, John grinned around his mouthful and reached over to grab Todd's ass, kneading it. He needed to put his hands somewhere, after all.

Todd chuckled, sending vibrations across John's cock, and mirrored John's gesture with his free hand, digging gently into the flesh. 

Biting back a moan, John concentrated on swallowing more of Todd's cock instead, experimenting with the best rhythm for doing that while lying down. It meant moving his head in a completely different way. He caught on well enough, though, bobbing his head back and forth. 

Purring in pleasure, Todd swirled his tongue around the length of John's cock, moving his hand on John's ass, rubbing his thumb in a circular pattern. 

That felt damn good, and John sighed happily, pulling back a little to breathe, using his hand to keep the stimulation going. He was usually outdone by Todd sooner or later, though he really didn't mind. He just liked the chance to get him back a little. Wraith stamina was impossible to keep up with in the long run, but John liked trying. He had a feeling Todd liked it when he tried, too. 

He smiled to himself and leaned back in, wrapping his lips around Todd's cock again, pressing his tongue against the spot right below the head. He couldn't help but think that men had an advantage giving blow jobs; he could look back at all the things he enjoyed and try them out on Todd. Most of the time, the Wraith very much approved, his purring giving him off. 

When Todd pressed his fingers a little closer, dipping into the cleft and pressing against John as to push into him, John did make a small, strangled sound of pleasure. Todd's claws were scary, but the reward was oh so sweet, and Todd was always careful about those things. If he nicked John with his nails, he meant to do so. 

John wriggled back into touch happily, sucking harder. 

He was vaguely aware of Todd doing something, pulling away for a while, but he didn't really care, not until there was something wet and slick being rubbed into him, and Todd's tongue was back on his cock, licking almost delicately, as though he was particularly delicious. 

Shivering, anticipation rushing through him, John picked up his pace, using more force than he had been. He'd wanted to drag it out a bit, but if Todd was going to do that, John wasn't about to hold back. 

He made an undignified little sound as Todd dipped the tip of his tongue into the slit at the same time as he squeezed his balls lightly, cupping them easily in his hand. Suppressing another shiver, John leaned in further, taking as much of Todd's cock as he could, humming around his mouthful. He had tricks of his own to try. He wasn't going to last long, not with Todd doing that to him, but he intended to do his best to drag Todd over the edge with him.

Eventually, it got to be too much, though, and he pulled back, craning his head to look up at Todd. "If you're planning more than this," he said, breathless, "you'd better get on with it because I'm not lasting much longer."

Todd made a pleased sound and pulled himself up, tugging John up as well. He leaned in, giving John a small smile. "What do you want?" He asked. 

John leaned in and kissed him, as hard as he could manage right now. "I want you to fuck me," he told him as he pulled away from the kiss. "Now." 

"That can be arranged," Todd promised, rolling John onto his back and lifting his legs, draping them across his shoulders. He'd found the lube again and slickened himself up, and when he pushed forwards, John hissed in pleasure and threw his head back. With that angle, Todd slid deep into him with every thrust, providing a constant friction against his prostate, and it was very hard for John to focus on anything else

It took very little time before he was coming, his back arching and his legs locking behind Todd's head, pulling him closer. He made a strangled sound of pleasure and collapsed backwards, feeling boneless from pleasure. 

It didn't take much longer before Todd followed, his thrusts growing erratic before stopping entirely, a deep rumbling sound of pleasure in the back of his throat. He held still for a while, catching himself, before withdrawing, lying down next to John and stroking his fingers idly across his chest. 

"That was a lot more interesting than cacti," John told him, rolling onto his side so he could kiss him lightly.

"And more interesting than annoying my sub-commander?" Todd asked, grinning at him.

John returned the grin. "That remains to be seen. We'll have to do some extensive testing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: 69
> 
> Todd's teeth are still terrifying!


	15. Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A story about intimacy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is as close to fluff as I get.
> 
> ...The story, not Todd's hair. Though that is also very fluffy.

When he'd been stationed in Afghanistan, John had flown a lot of medevac missions. Those had been both his favourite and his least favourite missions, paradoxically. His favourites because he got to save lives instead of take them, but his least favourites because they were exhausting and sometimes they ended up losing their soldiers anyway. He always came back from those missions feeling exhausted to the core, whether or not they were successful. They were still extremely intense missions that took a lot out of him.

Those had been for a handful of soldiers or civilians at most. Organizing medical evacuation of an entire population was probably the most exhausting thing he'd ever done, and he felt about ready to fall over. He was half tempted to just lean into Todd and have him drag him back to his room, but he was not so exhausted he didn't know where they were. The expedition members had enough trouble dealing with the friendship their military commander had with a Wraith without adding fuel to the rumours.

He'd heard a few of them refer to Todd as "the colonel's Wraith". He kind of liked that. Not that he laid any claim to owning Todd, but the idea of belonging appealed to him. A shared belonging, mutual respect and loyalty. He hadn't had that in years, not since his divorce, and even then, they'd never had the same sense of equality, because there had been so much he'd had to hide from her because of his job. He'd always let his job come first.

He still did, but it was different with Todd. Todd did the same, and his expectations for their relationship was different. It wasn't like either of them were looking for a white picket fence, two point three children and a dog. Well, a dog might be nice. John liked dogs. They were simple creatures and loved unconditionally. Introducing Earth fauna to the Pegasus galaxy was strictly prohibited, though, and it wasn't as though he was around enough to be fair to a dog, anyway.

John was clearly more exhausted than he'd thought, if that was the way his mind decided to wander. He shook his head and picked up his pace, headed for his quarters with Todd following him like a shadow come to life.

As he entered his rooms, John kicked his boots off with a bit more force than strictly necessary and flopped onto the bed in a graceless heap. He was exhausted, but his mind was still running at top speed, and there was no way he could sleep, even if it was all he wanted to do.

He looked up at Todd, who was sitting next to him on the bed, legs crossed beneath him.

Maybe not the only thing he wanted to do.

"Can I brush your hair?" He found himself asking, looking at the long white tangles. Nancy had always asked him to brush her hair for him when he came home from stressful assignments, and he'd quickly learned that she did it more for him than for her gain. She could brush her own hair much faster herself, but the repetitive motions and soft strands against his skin had been calming, helping him come down from the post-mission high.

To his credit, Todd didn't even look oddly at him, just smiled and slipped from the bed to sit on the floor, allowing John better access to his hair without having to stretch.

Perhaps Todd wanted to be touched as much as John wanted to touch him. It was certainly possible.

Carefully getting to his feet, not quite trusting them not to give way beneath him, John went to the bathroom and picked up his brush. He didn't bother using it much; his hair resisted all attempts at taming it anyway, but it was a nice brush. He just normally got by with a comb. That wasn't going to work on Todd's hair though, not without breaking. The brush was a much better bet.

He went back to the other room and sat down on the bed behind Todd, looking at his hair and wondering to start. There was a lot of hair to brush. He made a decision to just start on one side and work his way around, and picked up a handful, beginning the process of picking the tangles apart. Nancy's hair had never gotten quite that bad, but her hair had tangled up sometimes, and the principle was the same. Slowly, surely, he began untangling the knots, one by one, until he could brush through the hair in his hand without it snagging. Once at that point, he picked up a new handful and repeated the process.

It was easy to lose track of time like that, carefully picking apart every knot and snag in Todd's hair until it fell mostly free around his shoulders. His hair was soft, much softer than it looked, like silk strands more than like hair, and without the weight of the tangles, it fluffed up a bit. Smiling, John began brushing through it in earnest, making it shine now that it was untangled and loose.

Wraith hair always looked so nice when it was well maintained, and getting to run his fingers through it was very nice. He didn't have anything to tie it off with, or he could have put some braids in. Still, it looked really nice, and felt even better against his skin.

Reaching out, John lightly flicked the against one of the bone spurs on Todd's neck. The bone itself wasn't sensitive, but the area around was. "All done," he said, though he was reluctant to pull his hands free. He really liked the way Todd's hair felt against his fingers.

Todd got to his feet in a single, smooth motion, catching his reflection in the window and tilting his head. His hair looked a good deal longer when smoothed out, and it had quite a bit of volume to it.

"You look nice," John told him, which was true. By human standards, Todd might not be exactly attractive, but it was pointless to apply human standards to an alien anyway, and John happened to really enjoy the way Todd looked, even when his hair was a tangled mess.

"I do not think my hair has looked this nice in centuries," Todd mused, joining John on the bed again. "Thank you."

John should be thanking him for helping him calm down, but he wasn't sure what to said. "I enjoyed it," he tried, but it didn't quite seem good enough. "'s soothing." The last was murmured against Todd's neck as he curled into him, feeling uncharacteristically touch starved.

There was no verbal reply, but Todd wrapped his arms around him and traced idle patterns on his skin, which was almost better right then. He liked being touched like that, as though Todd was committing him to his memories. It made him feel like he was special, and not in the way he'd usually been. John had been the outcast so many times; not the son his father had wanted, not the husband his wife had wanted, not the soldier the military had wanted.

It was nice to feel wanted again.

He lifted his head to press a light kiss to Todd's lips, still leaning on the Wraith. He liked that, too, that he could just lean in and knew Todd could hold him, knew he would hold him. That was the core of the relationship they had. John could let go with Todd. He didn't have to hold everything together. It made him feel safe, which should be ridiculous when he was pressed up against a creature who could kill him immediately. 

It didn't feel ridiculous, though. 

"Lie down with me?" John asked, eyes half closed. He wasn't really interested in sex for the sake of getting off at the moment, but he wanted the sensations and closeness. 

Shifting his weight, Todd lowered them both to the bed so they were lying facing each other, his fingers slipping up under John's shirt, just tracing patterns against his skin again, detailing invisible designs on John's torso. John made a pleased sound and mirrored the gesture, sliding his hands up beneath the oddly soft shirt Todd wore to roam along his sides. Todd's skin was always so pleasant to touch, and John loved tracing the patterns of his tattoos with his fingers, the slight difference in texture readable by his fingertips. 

He sighed, pleased, and reluctantly pulled away, sitting up so he could wriggle out of his clothing. He didn't quite manage, but Todd caught him, chuckling, keeping him upright so he didn't tumble out of the bed. 

Todd stroked his hands down John's bare arms, pressing a kiss to his neck, and John tilted his head to give him better access. It felt nice to be just taken care of like that for once. He'd been running himself ragged lately, and it was so good to just relax and have someone else take the lead.

He made a small sound of protest as Todd let go of him and moved away to strip off his own clothing, but sighed and laid back down. Todd joined him soon enough, just slowly running his fingers along John's skin. 

"Want to feel you," John murmured, leaning in to kiss Todd's neck like the Wraith had done to him earlier. His mind was all worn and exhausted, and he wanted everything to just go away, focusing instead on Todd's solid presence, reminding him of what was real and right there, not bad memories or forgotten worries coming back to haunt him. 

Rolling them over, so he was lying across John, their bodies pressed together, Todd purred. "Like this?"

John pressed up against him and smiled. "Yes," he said. "Just like that." 

His cock was paying attention now, pressed against Todd, though it was a slow, drudging interest. He'd really enjoy Todd fucking him right then, but not because he wanted an orgasm as much as because he wanted to feel connected in every way he could. It always felt like there was a piece missing, and maybe it was because Todd was Wraith and there was a mental component missing, though John had no idea how he could yearn for something he'd never felt. Sex was the next best thing, though, and he loved the feeling of Todd moving against him, inside him, that slow warmth spreading through him. 

Not surprisingly, Todd seemed to pick up on John's train of thought very quickly, kissing him deeply while reaching over to get the lube from the drawer. He pressed the bottle into John's hand, purring slowly against him, his whole body vibrating. John made a pleased sound and wriggled against him, uncorking the bottle and slicking his fingers as best he could. There was no sense of urgency to it, for once, just the pleasant feeling of skin against skin and Todd's familiar, comforting weight against him. Todd was pressing more kisses to his neck and jawline, occasionally flickering his tongue over the skin, and it felt very good. 

Pressing his fingers inside himself, John slowly stretched himself open, laughing a little as Todd caught his other hand with his, pulling it to his mouth and pressing a kiss to the palm. It was a meaningful gesture to Wraith, and he knew it, but it tickled a little, Todd's beard brushing across his wrist, and he smiled up at Todd, watching him

Todd smiled back and laced their fingers together, holding onto John's hand. 

Much to his surprise, John could feel his cheeks heat a little. He was not prone to blushing, but the situation seemed to trigger reactions in him he hadn't expected. He distracted himself by pouring more lube onto his fingers, reaching between them to curl his hand around Todd's cock, slowly pumping him. Todd didn't seem to be in much of a rush either, but he responded to the touch, moving against John's strokes and nuzzling at his neck. 

Eventually, John decided they were both ready, and used his hand to guide Todd's cock to its mark, tilting his head back as he slowly pressed inside. He moved his hand to Todd's shoulder and spread his legs wide, rocking up against his lover to set a slow, steady pace. 

Shifting his shoulders a bit, Todd made John move his hand to rest along his spine, and John smiled. The area along the bone spurs was one of the more sensitive areas of Todd's body. He made a small, pleased sound and dug his fingers in a little, pressing against the nerves there. Todd's purrs deepened a bit as he did, his rocking motion angling a bit deeper. 

Normally, whenever they had sex, it felt like a race to orgasm, which was usually what they wanted, but this was nice, too, just slowly building towards it, feeling Todd's body against him, his hand firmly holding onto John's. There was no rush, just the pleasure and the closeness to each other. 

Every rocking motion meant John could feel Todd slide deep into him and pull back, a steady rhythm, keeping pace with Todd's heartbeat, much slower than John's own. He felt stretched wide, but there was no sense of urgency, just the slow pressure steadily building up with every stroke. Running his fingers all the way up Todd's spine, pressing down on both sides of the bone, John tangled his fingers into Todd's hair and pulled his head up a little so he could kiss him again, happily losing himself in the kisses and the rocking motion until it was all a single haze of pleasure.

When he came, it was almost a surprise. Normally he could tell when he was getting close, but the steady, constant stimulation had made that hard. Instead there was a warm rush of ecstasy as his cock pulsed twice, spilling come over his stomach. He gave a small moan as he came, kissing Todd deeper, digging his hand into Todd's shoulder.

A few more strokes and Todd was arching against him, giving a small hiss of pleasure as he reached his own orgasm, still not letting go of John's hand.

He didn't let go until several minutes had passed, just basking in the afterglow. When he did, it was to get up and get a towel to clean them both off, a towel that was immediately thrown into the hamper as Todd crawled back into the bed, pulling John against him, stroking his fingers gently through John's hair. 

John smiled and curled closer, his mind feeling wonderfully blank, still flushed with the warmth and pleasure of orgasm. He was still exhausted, but the weariness in his mind had let go, leaving only the awareness of Todd pressed against him, soft hair falling on his skin, the scent of earthy moss and resin and the slow, steady heartbeat lulling him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Sweet and passionate


	16. Bored No More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That's one way to keep entertained while waiting for rescue.

"Ow," John muttered, leaning against the wall. "Let's not do this again?"

Todd made a sharp sound of dry amusement. "I would say yes, but I do not think the universe is so kind."

"Not to mention the Ancients," John said, wincing. He was not too happy with the Ancients at the moment. Their habit of just leaving their potentially deadly devices around with no warning was really getting on his nerves. They'd never been willing to admit that they'd done something wrong, and as such, they never explained why their devices was no longer in use.

And then they ended up being gravity field manipulators that activated by thought only to malfunction and lock in active mode, and John got to spend hours getting thrown into things. He felt like one large bruise.

They'd managed to get the thing turned off eventually, after it tore a chunk of the floor loose and Todd threw it at the device, but not before they'd gotten stuck, the whole section of the facility sunken into the ground.

The Daedalus was thankfully not too far away, so help was on the way. John was just sore and kind of cranky. Todd, of course, was already healed from his own injuries, though he wasn't too happy about the whole situation either.

Things could have been much worse. The chamber they were in was meant to hold the device and was a pretty solid structure, missing chunk of the floor aside. It could hold the dirt and rocks now covering the chamber at bay for a good while still. There was a risk of running out of air, theoretically, but the room was huge and they would have to stay there for days before that was problem. John's injuries weren't serious, just sore. He'd be feeling that for a while, but he had no need of medical attention.

Mostly, they were just stuck.

"Remind me to start putting a book or something in my pack," John said, sitting up a bit. "Getting stuck like this happens to me a bit too often." Or maybe a deck of cards. Anything to keep the boredom at bay.

Todd chuckled. "It never used to happen to me until I allied with your people," he said.

"Are you saying we're bad luck or something?" John asked, grinning at him.

"No." Todd returned the grin, only many times creepier, teeth bared. "I knew that already."

Snorting in amusement, John looked around the room. It was pretty dark, only a single lamp still functioning, and very dusty. The dust had gotten caught in the gravity fields, and when the device shut down, it had covered everything in the room, including them. They'd mostly managed to dust themselves off, but everything else was a mess.

"I bet some of this dust is older than you," he said, grinning at Todd again.

The Wraith scoffed, but he was still smiling.

As far as people to be stuck in a dusty ancient chamber with, Todd wasn't so bad. Especially not since they hadn't had any time to themselves. 

"You know," John said, giving Todd a wry look, "I was just thinking earlier that we didn't get enough time alone together. This wasn't quite what I had in mind, though."

"Too much dust?" Todd asked, reaching out to put his arm around John's waist and pull him closer, leaning into him. 

Shaking his head, John leaned into the embrace. "Too many bruises for all the wrong reasons." He felt kind of tenderized. 

Still, they were alone, and it'd be hours before anyone showed up to fetch them. A grin spreading across his face, John sat up enough to lift his leg across Todd's, so he could straddle his lap. "Want to make me feel sore for the right reasons?" He asked, licking his lower lip. 

Todd's only response was a slow, deep growl, his hands grabbing John by the hips. 

Laughing, John leaned in and kissed him, rocking against him as he did. 

They had nothing on them that could be used as lubricant, so anything too advanced was right out, but it wasn't like they needed lube to get off. Just friction was enough, and John would happily get them both to climax just rocking against his lover's body. Just the thought was already getting him hard, his cock straining against the fabric of his pants. 

Pulling back for a moment, licking his swollen lips again, John undid his fly and pulled his cock out, then did the same for Todd, using his hand to cup them together, rocking back and forth to provide the friction he craved so much. Like that, he put minimal strain on himself, too, which was nice after having been thrown into so much stuff. 

In response, Todd slid his hands back, cupping John's ass to give him more purchase in rocking back and forth like that, lightly digging his nails into the flesh. 

John made a throaty little sound of pleasure. He liked it when Todd manhandled him. 

Starting slow, John began picking up the pace of his strokes, going faster, stroking their cocks together and enjoying the slick feeling, the contrast in temperature and texture only making it better. 

It was almost too good, and he didn't want it to be over so fast, so he slowed down again, making his strokes vary in speed and intensity, switching between slow and languid strokes and frantic rubbing. 

His head was tilted back, which Todd used to his advantage, licking John's neck slowly and thoroughly. 

It felt so good, the combination of the tongue at his throat, the glide of Todd's cock against his and the nails digging lightly into his ass, and eventually, John was gasping, his hips twitching helplessly as he came. Panting, he leaned forwards against Todd's chest, letting go of his softening cock and focusing on Todd's, stroking him faster and harder until Todd came, too, a quiet hiss his only response as he lowered his face to John's neck.

Resting against him, John could feel his eyes threatening to slide shut, and struggled to stay up, but Todd just moved his hand to rest at the small of John's back and stroke slow circles against the skin. 

"I will wake you before your ship gets here," he promised. "You might as well get some sleep."

Yawning, John let his eyes close, and was asleep before five minutes had passed.

It had been an exhausting day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: On the floor
> 
> This one is a bit short. Sorry about that. I had to stay late at work yesterday, so I didn't have much time or energy to write when I got home.


	17. Morning Mood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lazy mornings is a rare treat.

Even after everything they had been through, it was rare for John to see Todd actually sleep. Wraith didn't need nearly as much sleep as humans did, and when they did sleep, they kept to themselves. In sleep, they were vulnerable, though nowhere as much as a human. Seeing Todd like that, curled into his bedding and completely off his guard, was a measurement of how much they'd come to trust each other. They had slept in the same bed before, but usually, Todd woke up before John did, so he didn't get to enjoy the sight of a sleeping Wraith.

Todd had curled up until he took up remarkably little place for someone his height, the sheets pooling around his waist. Wraith normally had slow breathing, but when they were asleep, they could almost pass for dead, their breathing slowing even further. Despite the efforts of the day before, his hair was already fluffing up into a mess again, though it wasn't like John would mind having to brush it out once more.

He looked peaceful like that, curled up with his eyes closed, long white lashes brushing his skin.

Smiling, John curled into his own side of the bed, getting his book from the bedside table. If Todd was tired enough to sleep like that, John wasn't going to wake him early. It seemed like a shame to ruin a good night's sleep for someone. Besides, he had a feeling he'd get hissed at if he tried. Better to let him sleep and focus on his book. It was a pretty good book, honestly, all sneaky plots and layered politics. All the things he had no patience for in real life. He liked them well enough in books, though. Todd would probably appreciate the book even more, considering that sneaky plots and layered politics was exactly his kind of thing.

John propped a pillow behind his back and settled down to read.

He was uncertain how long he'd been reading when Todd began to stir, too caught up in the story to actually pay attention to how much time had passed. He didn't even really notice Todd waking up until the Wraith's arm was around him, Todd sitting up enough to lean on John and rest his head on his shoulder.

"Morning," John offered, turning his head to give him a light sideways kiss.

Todd blinked at him, not so much sleepy confusion as it was because the room was too bright for him when he was just waking up. His response was a low purr that didn't seem to mean much, but it sounded nice anyway.

"You with me?" John asked, teasing a little. Todd was surprisingly cute like that, and that wasn't a description he put on a scary space vampire easily.

"Mmm," Todd agreed. "Good book?"

Nodding, John easel-eared the book and closed it to let Todd see the cover. "It's got action and thieves in the middle of politics. You'd like it, I think. There might be an audio book of it. I'll check the next time I'm on Earth." Todd could read English, but it took a lot more effort than it should, because he had to slowly sound it out in his head and wait for the translation effect to kick in. John knew what a pain that could be, because he had the same problem reading Ancient. Audio translated immediately, which made it much easier.

"I would probably enjoy that," Todd agreed, leaning in to kiss John's ear.

Chuckling, John put the book away. He wasn't going to get peace to read much more, he suspected. Not that he minded. He hadn't wanted to wake Todd because he only slept when he really needed it, but now that he was awake, there were other things he'd like to spend the morning doing.

With the book out of the way, he could roll over and curl into Todd, kissing him properly. John liked kissing, liked lying like that, all tangled up with his lover and just making out like a pair of eager teenagers, and he even liked the feeling of sharp teeth occasionally catching on his lip or tongue. He'd gotten so used to it he was pretty sure that at this point, it'd feel weird to kiss someone without those teeth.

They'd been doing this thing long enough now that they'd learned to work around a lot of the issues that were involved, considering the nature of their relationship. There were a lot of them, and they'd mutually agreed to ignore them as best they could. John didn't want to think about it, because Todd was Wraith, with all that entailed, and Todd didn't seem to want to think about it either, because John was a human with a human lifespan. Both of them were going against common sense in their relationship. Often ignoring it was the best way to deal.

The physical aspects of their differences, though, they'd mostly learned how to handle. While he still occasionally got caught on Todd's teeth when they were kissing, they knew what to do now and it never caused any real damage. 

John's arms had ended up wrapped around Todd's neck at some point, and he didn't feel like letting go. Instead, he twined his fingers into Todd's hair and kissed him again, slow and languid. 

Purring slowly, Todd slid his hands down John's back, pulling him closer and grabbing his ass at the same time. John wiggled against him happily.

He was still feeling pretty slick from the night before, when they'd been pretty urgent and hurried with each other. He bet it wouldn't take much to get him ready for another round, which sounded pretty good just about then. He just didn't feel like moving much. Neither did Todd, it seemed, just stroking his fingers over John's skin in idle patterns. 

Pulling one arm free, John stroked it down Todd's arm and over his stomach, dipping down to his groin. He curled his fingers around his cock and stroked him gently, kissing him again. 

"Insatiable," Todd murmured against his lips, returning the kiss. It didn't sound like a complaint. 

It wasn't a lie, either. John really liked sex, and always had, and when he had a partner, he tended to be very eager to have as much of it as possible. Besides, Todd had yet to turn him down, so it wasn't as though he was much better. 

"Mmhmm," he agreed, leaning into Todd, moving his other hand behind him to stretch himself open. 

It didn't take much to get him ready, so he gave Todd a last kiss and rolled over, wriggling his ass into Todd's crotch, snickering to himself. 

The snicker changed to a breathy moan as Todd slid into him, pushing as deep as he could go, wrapping one arm around John's chest, the other with his hand around his cock. Pleased, John pressed his hips forwards, bucking into Todd's hand only to slide back onto his cock, hissing in pleasure as the head of the cock brushed across the prostate, the ridges on the cock following suit. That felt far better than anything had the right to do. 

Todd seemed happy enough to let John set the pace, backing it up with his thrusts until John was squirming and cursing in pleasure under his breath, his toes curling into the sheets. The slow, steady rhythm made him burn inside, the constant stimulation both not enough and far too much. Just not quite enough to let him come just yet, and John knew Todd loved dragging his orgasm out of him.

Truth to be told, John loved it, too, loved it when Todd just took over and he could just lean back and enjoy the ride. Letting Todd take over, John leaned back against him and closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth from the morning sun on his face and the steady, maddening sensation of Todd slowly thrusting into him, his cock dragging over John's prostate with every stroke. 

When he came, it felt as though his orgasm was milked from him more than anything, and he bit back a curse, digging his hands into the bedding as he arched away, his cock pulsing a few times and then lying still against his sticky stomach. 

Purring, Todd lowered the hand he'd had wrapped around John's cock to rest on his thigh, his slow thrusts not ceasing until a bit later, as he froze and his nails dug onto John's thigh. He hissed in pleasure as he came and didn't loosen his grip on John's chest until he was ready to pull away to find a cloth to clean off with. 

Once they were both clean, Todd manoeuvred them into the sunny spot on the bed and curled into John, resting his head on his stomach. Picking his book back up, John opened it on where he'd left off and tangled his other hand into Todd's hair, stroking through it slowly. 

Neither of them had anywhere they had to be, for once, and John was going to enjoy it. The weight of Todd's head on his stomach felt more intimate than any of their sexual encounters had, a solid reminder that this was more than just that. 

Smiling, John let himself get swept up in his book once more as Todd purred lazily against his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Morning lazy sex
> 
> John is reading "The Lies of Locke Lamora". I think he'd like it.


	18. The trees stand witness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another mission gone slightly pear-shaped leads to a couple of new discoveries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're getting this chapter early because I'm going to be away most of the day and I have no idea when I'll be back.
> 
> This is yet another continuity and I have no idea why. Let's just roll with it.

There was a disproportionate number of planets with forests of giant trees in the Pegasus galaxy. They all looked the same, too, tall trees that made it impossible to use a jumper and mostly just got in the way. The only difference tended to be who would be out to get them there.

The Bola Kai, in this case. John had only heard about them from Teyla and Keller's brush with the tribe, and he hadn't thought much about them. As it turned out, though, they were a pain and a half. He suspected they might be on some sort of drugs, because they showed no signs of feeling fear, and few signs of pain either. It was one thing that they weren't afraid of him, because John knew he didn't look all that intimidating, but he was stuck with Todd on this mission, and Wraith normally scared people.

People who weren't Ronon, at least. Ronon's response was a good deal more rage-fuelled. 

The Bola Kai hadn't seemed to care, though, perfectly happy to try killing Todd as much as they were trying to kill John.

Not that they'd succeeded in any way. That was another point in favour of them being on some sort of drug; only someone under the influence would try taking a Wraith on in close combat. Even if they did have an axe, it wasn't a fair fight in any way.

It wasn't a full-scale Bola Kai attack, probably because the world was uninhabited. Just a smaller hunting party, and they'd fought them off without much trouble once they'd figured things out, but it was still an annoyance. John didn't appreciate being considered dinner. Neither did Todd, although in his case, it was kind of a case of karma. Apparently, the Bola Kai believed that consuming Wraith flesh would make them stronger. John was pretty sure it'd just make them sick, since Wraith flesh actually kept regenerating for a while after death. 

They were also, he was learning, surprisingly adept with knots. He'd been down for a while and one of them had tied his left wrist up, obviously intending to do the same to the right one, but John had woken up before they could manage that and had fought them off. He had a lot of problems getting the rope off, though. Maybe he should ask Todd to help him. Those nails had to be good for something. 

He just wasn't sure if Todd wanted to help him right then, because he had been riling him up ever since they'd left the Bola Kai behind, and he was probably quite annoyed with him at the moment. It was just a bit too much fun to poke fun at a Wraith who couldn’t really kill him for it without getting in trouble. For one thing, he needed John to fly the jumper. It was possible to walk from the forest to the gate, but it'd take weeks.

"Honestly," John told him, tugging in vain at the rope around his wrist. "Aren't Wraith supposed to be amazing hunters? You'd have thought you'd hear them coming, or something." 

Todd just hissed at him, apparently not feeling like playing along. He was clearly not too happy with any of the situation, but John liked living on the edge. He didn't think Todd would kill him. Not until he was no longer useful, at least. 

"Why did I even bring you?" John muttered, though he knew exactly why he'd brought Todd. Both Rodney and Ronon was on Earth, visiting their respective girlfriends' families, and John had needed to bring someone who mastered Ancient tech and could back him up in a fight. Todd had seemed a good choice for both, and gave Teyla some time to spend with her family. 

Because it was supposed to be an uninhabited planet and they were just looking through the ruins for spare data crystals, he hadn't thought to bring backup. If he hadn't had Todd there, he'd probably have been stew by now. He should probably thank him instead of picking on him, but he was a bit embarrassed by the whole thing and was taking it out on Todd. Which wasn't fair at all and he should stop doing it. 

"Hey," he said, pausing and looking at Todd. "I'm sorry, all right?" He tugged at the rope again. "I'd probably have been killed if you weren't here and I'm being an ass about it because I'm embarrassed that I had to be rescued. It's not your fault and I'm sorry." Apologizing wasn't his favourite thing to do, especially not to Wraith, but Todd deserved an apology and John wasn't going to be an ass about it. 

Todd just watched him, saying nothing, his expression impassive.

Maybe John had taken it a little too far. He sighed and held his wrist out cautiously. "You think you can get this off of me?" He had the excessive rope coiled up in his other hand to keep from tripping over it, and he'd really like to get rid of it all. 

Stepping a little closer, Todd took hold of John's wrist and looked at it. 

Suddenly, John found himself backed into a nearby tree, the rope around his wrist and hand pulled up over his head and holding his arms in place. He tried to pull free but Todd's grip on the rope was like steel. 

"Todd?" He asked, something almost like fear flaring in his stomach.

The Wraith grinned a not at all friendly smile, all sharp teeth and menace. 

"This time," he said, leaning in to speak directly into John's ear, "I will accept your apology. But if you ever treat me like that again, I will not be so forgiving the next time."

He was close enough that John could feel his body heat, his breath washing over John's ear as he spoke. His hair, much softer than it looked, brushed lightly against John's neck and John swallowed, suddenly and inexplicably aroused, his cock twitching in his pants. He shivered, and hoped Todd would mistake it for fear.

Pulling back a little, Todd paused, tilting his head, the sensory pits dilating slightly. Slowly, he grinned again, but without the previous malice.

John felt his face heat up. So much for mistaking his response for fear. At least Todd didn't seem angry at the fact that apparently, John got off on having Todd shove him against trees.

He'd always enjoyed partners who could manhandle him a bit, but he'd never considered Wraith in such a context before. He probably wouldn't have with any other Wraith, but Todd was a different case entirely. He wasn't safe, not by any means, but he was pragmatic. As long as John was useful to him, he had nothing to worry about. At least not until his body had decided to pop a boner at him. 

"Sheppard," Todd said, dragging it out into a rolling purr as he often did, still grinning.

"Look," John said, glaring at him, "I shouldn't have taunted you earlier, and I'm sorry, but I've already apologized and I don't know what else you want from me. I get that this is probably hilarious to you, but it's not funny to me." He'd had enough of that back on Earth. It wasn't just joining the air force that had made him stop sleeping with men, it was the response others had, treating him like a joke as soon as they knew he wasn't straight. Mostly, it was jokes about how any woman he'd dated was just a beard and how in the closet he was, but there had always been jokes about bisexuals being so easy anything turned them on. 

Todd looked at him, tilting his head further. "Why would I mock you? For your bad timing?" 

It was pretty bad timing, John would give him that. There were a lot better places to be having erections than in the middle of a forest, shoved up against a tree. 

"I'm sure you can think of something," he muttered. "Inappropriate boners is always hilarious, right?" He was just glad Todd hadn't taken offence and punched him or something. 

Without letting go of the rope, Todd stepped close again and John closed his eyes, not sure what to expect. 

He did not expect to be kissed, Todd pressing against him, his leg slipping between John's. He kissed him hard and rough, and John was embarrassed further by hearing himself whimper into the kiss. It felt amazing, though, the sharp teeth a lot less scary then they should have been, the pressure against his cock wonderful. Todd let go of his hands, and John dropped the rope, wrapping his arms around Todd and pulling him closer. 

Working his hand between them, Todd undid the zipper on John's pants and slipped his hand inside, fishing John's cock out of his underwear to stroke it steadily. He was very good at that, and John shivered again, moving his non-bound hand in between them as well, fumbling a bit with the fastenings on Todd's pants before figuring them out, returning the favour by mirroring Todd's movements. 

It had been a long time since he'd given someone else a hand job, but he was fairly sure he still remembered how, thumbing the head of Todd's cock as he kissed him again. The Wraith certainly didn't seem to have any complaints, returning the kiss fervently, scraping his sharp nails lightly down the underside of John's cock. 

Biting at Todd's lower lip, John picked up the pace, stroking faster and harder, which Todd seemed to appreciate, moving against his hand as he began stroking faster as well, apparently taking it as a challenge. It was a challenge John was up for, because the way he saw it, there was no way to really lose. He was enjoying himself a lot, enjoying the feel of Todd against him and of his cock in his hand. Todd had a nice cock, almost too big to get his fingers around, with strange ridges giving a lot of texture. John would bet those would feel amazing for his partners. It wasn't easy to see from his angle, but the cock was slightly darker than the rest of Todd's skin at the base, darkening further along the length. It looked almost bizarre against John's skin, but it worked like any other cock he'd played with. 

Making a low, purring sound of pleasure, Todd wound one of his arms lower until he could grab John's ass and squeeze it, which had John thrusting up into his hand, hips moving almost on their own. 

John made a slight keening noise as he came, clinging to Todd with his free hand, stroking him furiously until Todd came as well, hissing in pleasure as he did. 

Slumping back against the tree, John fought to catch his breath, and tucked himself back into his pants, feeling at once both boneless from pleasure and very surprised at what he'd just done. 

Todd didn't seem nearly as affected, already looking presentable again, clothing back on properly. He reached out and picked John's wrist up, nails slicing easily through the rope and watching as it fell to the ground. 

"Next time," he said, grinning again, teeth showing, "try saying please." He slowly ran his fingers along John's hand, rubbing his thumb over the palm, and then let go, turning to walk off in the direction of the jumper.

Still flushed with the after-effects of his orgasm, his hand tingling where Todd had touched it, John hurried after him, his mind reeling. 

Maybe one day, he was going to walk away from an interaction with Todd and feeling like he knew what was going on.

It was not that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Outdoors, woods, parks, gardens


	19. Xenophilia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The similarities between their physical forms makes the differences stand out much more sharply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically me heaping on my headcanon about Wraith anatomy because I like my aliens to be a bit more alien than just painted a different colour. :P Most of this is based in a.) things I find attractive and b.) mashing up humanoid and insectoid traits. 
> 
> I've tried not going too much into my specific headcanons in this series, but I wanted to indulge myself for this prompt, considering it did call for it. I'm not claiming this as the definite Wraith anatomy, but it's more or less what I imagine when I write. I spend way too much time considering these things. *chuckles*
> 
> Your mileage may vary, and all that. :D

It never stopped fascinating John just how alien Todd actually was. 

The thing about Wraith that made them so unsettling, outside of the immortality and life-sucking, was that they were clearly based on the same mould as humans, but at the same time, they were just close enough that the differences were glaringly obvious. Lying side by side in bed together, those differences drew John's attention without fault. 

It began with the obvious one, the mottled and smooth skin and the bone structure of the face. John reached out, running his hand along the line of Todd's jaw, thumb brushing over the sensory pits, watching them flare in response. As far as he knew, they were not sensitive as such, but they held specialized sensory organs, both the thermoreceptive ones that allowed the Wraith to perceive infrared wavelengths and chemical receptors. 

John leaned in and pressed a light kiss against one of the pits, then the other.

At the same time, he kept his hand moving, fingers brushing across Todd's lips. That was another obvious one, along with the eyes. The placement and general outline wasn't that different from human, but the slit pupils and yellow irises were more reptilian than anything. Wraith were originally nocturnal, and their eyes reflected as much, the vertical slit pupil and eyeshine typical of predatory species that hunted in the dark. The teeth were more shark-like, razor sharp and constantly being replaced. 

Moving on, John gave Todd a kiss, flickering his tongue over his lower lip before making his way further down Todd's body, trailing kisses down his frame. He wanted to map out every inch of Todd's body until it was burned into his mind, every little detail committed to memory. It might take a longer lifespan than he had ahead of him, but he was still going to try. 

Wraith skin was remarkably smooth, devoid of hair anywhere below their heads. As a hybrid species, Wraith did not have all mammalian traits, and the lack of body hair was a great example of that, as was the lack of nipples or a bellybutton. It had been weird at first, though John was getting used to it, getting used to the fact that if he wanted to get Todd interested, the best areas to touch were on his back.

There were a set of heavy muscle nodes on his shoulders, apparently vestigial wing musculature, and digging his fingers into those always made Todd pay attention, purring beneath John's hands. The area alongside his spine was sensitive, too, though the ridges themselves were bone and chitinous carapace, completely without nerve endings. The spurs started at the sway of back and followed his spine all the way to where the neck joined with the back, forming extra protection around the spinal cord. 

Even their limbs were different. Todd's legs were entwined with John's at the moment, his feet in between John's, and they looked mostly normal, if you ignored the claws, but once he was actually walking on them, the slight difference was evident. The phalanges were longer, and he walked on the balls of his feet rather than the full sole, adding a couple of inches to his flat-footed height. When standing still, his feet were flat against the ground, like human feet were. 

Wraith hands were obviously different. They had large hands, large and long-fingered, presumably to have room for the feeding organ, which ran from the slit on the palm all the way up the forearm. It was also one of the most sensitive areas on the Wraith body, and John was happy to lace his fingers through Todd's from the back of his hand, pulling it close and kissing the palm. When not in use, and with Todd in a relaxed state, the feeding slit was almost just a raised line on his palm. It opened up during feeding, and during sex. The two had similar chemical responses in Wraith. 

Probably the thing that had taken the most time to get used to was how Wraith genitals worked, because they were not at all like human genitals when they weren't in use. Humans were not particularly optimised in how their genitals used, considering the potential for damage from the penis and testicles being external at all times. Most mammals didn't follow that pattern, and Wraith, who weren't even mammalian as such, definitely did not.

The first naked Wraith John had ever seen hadn't actually been Todd. It had been autopsy photos, and he'd been quite surprised back then at the lack of obvious sex characteristics. There was a slight bulge present in male Wraith that wasn't there in females, but it wasn't very noticeable. The combination of lower body temperature and better healing meant that external testicles to prevent the sperm from overheating was unnecessary, and so the main physical difference between male and female Wraith when naked was that the females had vestigial breasts. They, too, lacked nipples, so it was clear that the breasts were a leftover more than anything else.

It had made their first time a little more awkward, because John hadn't known what to expect.

The first aroused Wraith he'd seen had been Todd, though, and the differences were a lot less evident when in that state. 

Currently, Todd was only mildly aroused, the opening of the sheath parting slightly, the tip barely visible. Like in humans, Wraith cocks were a lot smaller when not aroused, but once they got going their interest was obvious. 

John was perfectly aware of the best way to get a Wraith interested, too. 

He was still holding onto Todd's hand, and he pulled it close now, lifting the hand to his lips so he could flicker his tongue across the palm, following the slit with the tip. It only took a few, steady licks to make the skin part, the organ opening up beneath his tongue. It had been entirely accidental when he'd found out how much Todd enjoyed being touched there, but he was glad he'd figured it out, because it was by far one of the best ways to stimulate him. 

It wasn't the healthiest thing for him to do, the organ producing a lot of enzyme under the stimulation, but as long as he didn't swallow too much of it, or stab his tongue on the proboscis, it was usually all right. He didn't do it too often to avoid the potential issues, but he'd come to very much like the flavour of earth, sweet enzyme and the way Todd squirmed under the attention and tried very hard to seem unaffected. 

It was all about holding his hand in place as he licked the slit thoroughly, dipping the tip of his tongue in and under the edge and swiping it around the edges. Tonguing the feeding organ made Todd curl against him and purr happily, grabbing at John's thigh and clutching it firmly. 

Grinning, John sealed his mouth over the opening and suckled, dipping his tongue deeper. The enzyme flooded his mouth as he did and he pulled back for a moment, letting the clear, slightly viscous liquid pour from his mouth. He'd have swallowed it if it wasn't for the addicting properties of the substance, but thankfully, he was aware of it and knew better than to swallow it. 

Instead, he took a break from that to lick along Todd's fingers, sucking at the finger tips. Wraith had much fewer surface nerves than humans did, but their fingers were every bit as sensitive, and it was something John liked taking advantage of. Once he'd done that for every finger, mindful of the nails, he lowered his head back to the palm again, dipping his tongue back into the feeding slit, exploring it thoroughly.

At that point, he'd more than achieved his goal, and with a last deep flick of his tongue, he pulled away and crawled lower, curling his fingers around Todd's cock and pumping it slowly. 

Aroused, Todd's cock was a thing of beauty, thick and warm in his hands, following the same basic idea as a human cock, but with some alterations. Because of the internal sheath, there was no need for foreskin, so that was absent. Instead, there were ridges running down the shaft, evenly spaced deposits of something harder beneath the skin. The ridges became more numerous and intense around the base of his cock, and John leaned in to run his tongue over them. 

Apparently, the ridges were there to make sex better for the queens, who could apparently be quite vicious with males who failed to get them off. The texture they provided made sex a lot better for male partners too, at least in John's opinion, and he found the bottle of lube as he licked up the underside of Todd's cock, trailing the ridges with his tongue. 

It was an easy matter to work himself open as he lavished attention on the cock in his mouth, sucking the tip into his mouth and bobbing his head up and down, using his tongue to keep it steady. Much as he loved giving blow jobs, he wanted to get fucked, to feel those ridges slowly drag against his insides until they picked up the pace and drove him over the edge moaning Todd's name. 

He rolled over in the pile of pillows and pulled Todd on top of him, guiding the Wraith's cock to his ass, biting his lip as the head slipped past the ring of muscle. He was nice and slick, but Todd was big and it always felt a little sore just at the start. It always faded, though, leaving only slowly building pleasure, and this was no exception. 

With Todd on top of him like that, John could dig his fingers into his shoulders, pressing against the left-over wing musculature, occasionally moving one hand to roam along the spinal column, legs hooked around Todd's waist to encourage him to move faster. Compared to Todd, John might be fragile, but he still wanted to be taken hard enough to feel it in the morning. 

It didn't actually take that long to tip John over the edge, already worked up from watching Todd's reactions. All it took was Todd nipping at his jaw and muttering his name into his ear over and over until it became like a litany. 

John bit his lip and threw his head back as he came, pushing back against Todd's strokes, clenching down on his cock until Todd reached his own climax, burying his face against John's neck to take in the way he smelled and felt against him. 

Twining one hand into Todd's hair, John pulled him forwards so he could rest across John's stomach, his steady purring a warm and gentle sensation. That was another thing humans couldn't do that John loved when Todd did to him. 

For all their differences physically, though, mentally they were usually on the same level when it came to what they wanted. 

Reaching out, John found Todd's feeding hand again and twined their fingers together once more, resting their joined hands on his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Your own kink


	20. Warning: Wet Floor (and Wraith)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's nice to have a shower with room for two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so this is incredibly late. I'm so sorry. I've had internet issues all night, and because it's Easter and in the middle of the night, I couldn't call them to have someone sort it out, and I can't post very well from my phone. It looks like they've sorted it out now, though. Argh.
> 
> At least this is a longer chapter to make up for that?

"Please tell me you have a shower somewhere aboard the ship?" John asked, trying in vain to scrape the luminous goo off of him. It didn't work in the least bit. He felt as though he'd been wrestling bioluminescent hagfish.

Sadly, that wasn't even that far from the truth, if hagfish had been the size of rottweilers and had legs. At least they had barely had teeth. Just copious amounts of mucus. 

At least Todd wasn't better off, as coated in the substance as John was. He simply pulled it off better, the glowing green goo more his colour. Wraith sort of looked like they should glow in the dark anyway. 

"Do you truly think that we would not have showers?" Todd asked, apparently trying to ignore the fact that he was covered from head to toe in glistening green goo. He looked remarkably calm about it, but then, it usually took quite a bit to rile him up. That was the thing about being as old as he was; most of the time, he'd always seen something stranger. 

John shrugged. "Could have fooled me with the way your hair usually looks," he said, grinning up at Todd. He was pretty sure they had showers on hive ships, actually, because pretty much every Wraith he'd ever met except Todd had their hair all dressed up. You didn't get hair like that without washing it frequently. 

The one advantage of the glowing goo was that it made it a lot easier to see where he was going in the darkness of the hive ship. It had to be pretty unpleasant for Todd, though. Wraith eyes were pretty photosensitive, and while the goo wasn't that bright, the light was constant, never relenting even for a moment. John felt a bit like a walking glow stick, really, and it was pretty ridiculous. 

Todd led them through the ship back to his own quarters, pulling his coat off as they walked through the door and hanging it off to the side, away from everything else. It still glowed. 

"This is possibly the most ridiculous thing that has ever happened to me," John told him, pulling his own jacket off and hanging it by the coat. "And that includes the time I turned into a bug." 

"I wish I could say it is the most ridiculous thing to ever happen to me, but it would be a lie." Todd sounded surprisingly resigned as he spoke.

Bending down to unlace his boots, John shook his head. "Do I even want to know?" He asked, pulling the boots off. 

"I would rather imagine you would prefer not to," Todd said, doing the same thing, removing all the stained clothing and piling them carefully away from anything he didn't want glow goo on. "You should remove anything you need cleaned." 

"You just want me sitting around naked, eh?" John joked, but did as he was told, removing anything that had the glowing mucus clinging to it. He wasn't sure what Wraith did for laundry, but at that point, he didn't really care as long as he got the goo off. 

Tilting his head as though he was considering it, Todd grinned. "I would not object if you choose to do so," he admitted. "But if you prefer, I should have something that fits you well enough until your clothing are cleaned."

John considered it. Todd's chambers were pretty nice and warm, and there was a lot of soft things around because Wraith apparently had nesting tendencies when in private, so it wasn't as though he needed to wear anything. It wasn't like Todd hadn't seen him naked frequently. "Maybe if I have to leave the rooms," he agreed, because the rest of the ship was kind of cold. He wasn't really that concerned about his nudity, but he'd rather not freeze. 

"Yes," Todd agreed, and there was a strange edge to it. Wraith were pretty territorial, and apparently they didn't share easily. 

Chuckling, absurdly pleased to have Todd be kind of possessive of him, as long as he didn't take it too far, John walked over and kissed him.

He grimaced as he pulled away. "This stuff tastes awful," he muttered. 

"Bathroom," Todd stated, opening the door behind them. 

He'd actually been in Todd's bathroom before, but John hadn't been looking for a shower then, and he hadn't really noticed one. The thing about Wraith design was that he actively had to look for something to find it most of the time, and even then it was hit or miss since much of Wraith technology depended on neural input. Honestly, he'd just been relieved that there were functional bathrooms on the hive ship, but it shouldn't have surprised him that much. Wraith had functional digestive systems and they did occasionally eat or drink just for the pleasure of it, and the children and any worshippers the Hive might have obviously needed the facilities to be there. 

The walls parted willingly for Todd, opening into a whole new area that had been sectioned off.

Not only did they have showers, they had big showers, lit by the same orange panels that lit most of the ship, casting a warm glow over the glossy black surfaces. As a general rule, Wraith were taller than humans, but even so, it was clear that the showers were designed to fit more than one person if so desired. It wasn't entirely unexpected, John supposed. Wraith liked water. They might not be aquatic, but they were skilled swimmers, and they also kept their ships humid. 

"Nice," John murmured, running his fingers over the wall segment nearest him. It was cool and hard under his touch, but slightly more organic to the touch than the materials humans used for showers. 

Todd made an appreciative sound and stepped past him, into the chamber proper. 

The goo had pretty much covered all of their clothing except the underwear and socks, and Todd had already rid himself of those. John had pulled his socks off with his boots, because he hadn't needed them, but he was still wearing his boxers. He grinned and wriggled out of them, following Todd into the shower. 

The door slid shut behind them, which should have made it seem claustrophobic, but the shower was large and well lit and it was far from the worst place they'd ever been shut in together. Besides, the door was just closed, not blocked, which made all the difference. 

"Now what?" John asked, because they'd discovered pretty quickly that the goo wasn't water soluble once it had begun drying. Just turning on the shower probably wasn't going to do much. 

"Here," Todd said, taking John's hands in his, caressing the skin slightly with his thumb as he uncorked a bottle with his other hand and poured something over their hands. It was purple and tingled slightly on the skin, like there was camphor or something in it, but whatever it was made of, it did dissolve the goo without damaging the skin below. 

Chuckling, John rubbed his fingers together. "Were you expecting to get covered in goo?" He asked.

"This is made to remove traces of the substance the ship excretes," Todd explained, rubbing the solvent into their skin. "It has a similar chemical composition to this substance. I thought it likely that the solvent could remove both." 

As a living thing, hive ships wouldn't just have plain old grease, John supposed. It felt nice having Todd rub against his skin like that. He'd have to return the favour later. 

"Something tells me I don't want this in my eyes," he muttered, looking at the purple liquid on his hands. 

"Not particularly, no," Todd confirmed. "It would burn." 

Nodding, John lifted a hand to his face, carefully rubbing it into the goo, taking care to avoid the eyes. It was a pretty strong scent, kind of like tiger balm, but it did what it was supposed to do, and it was far better than being covered in goo. It did make his eyes water, though. 

Reaching out to stroke his thumb down John's cheek, Todd smiled at him. "Turn around," he said, rumbling. "I will get your hair for you." 

John did as he was told, happily leaning into the touch. Todd had amazingly agile fingers and despite the nails, he never actually scratched him. He also had a fascination with John's hair that John suspected stemmed from the novelty of a dark-haired male, and it wasn't unusual for him to end up rubbing his fingers through John's hair. It felt as nice as always, even if the solvent did leave a tingling sensation all over John's scalp. 

Once he'd been thoroughly coated in solvent, they switched place, letting John work the solvent through Todd's hair. He'd gotten a lot more goo in his hair than John had, simply on the merit of how much more hair he had, but it wasn't too difficult to work the solvent in. He had to tilt his head back a bit for John to reach, but that was easy enough. 

The water came on almost immediately once they were both covered in the solvent, warm and perfectly pressurized. John made a little sound of pleasure as the warm water washed over him, leaning against the wall. It figured that that the Wraith would have mastered shower technology in ten thousand years, with all that hair and all. 

Unlike the goo, the solvent came straight off in water, dripping down his skin like watered out ink, the skin slightly tinted where they'd rubbed it in the hardest, around his fingers and probably his scalp as well. He couldn't quite see that. There were no mirrors in the shower proper. 

Looking over at Todd, he found himself biting back laughter. "Does these stains come out with soap?" He asked, body shaking from suppressed laughter. 

"Yes," Todd said, tilting his head and turning the water off to find more bottles. "Is something wrong?"

"You know how this stuff stains?" John asked, wiggling his purple-tipped fingers at Todd. "And how your hair is really pale and easily coloured?" 

He chuckled, unable to quite hold back his amusement. Todd looked pretty strange right then, his hair a slight lavender tint from the solvent. It looked like cotton candy. 

Todd reached up and grabbed a strand of his hair, looking at it. "Ah," he said, but there was clear amusement in his tone. "I have not tried it on my hair before. Normally, I only stain my hands."

"Well," John said, still chuckling, "while the lavender is very becoming with your skin tone and all, I do hope it washes out or you're going to have issues getting taken seriously." The lavender definitely lowered his intimidation factor, though much less than he'd have expected. John was actually quite impressed. 

Shaking his head slightly, Todd handed John one of the bottles instead. "Cleanser," he told him, grinning. "It will remove the stains."

Looking at the bottle, which didn't have any labels on it, John shrugged. "This just for skin or does it work on hair as well?" 

"It is meant for both," Todd said. 

"Come here, then," John said, grabbing Todd's hand and pulling him closer. "Might as well kill two birds with one stone." 

He poured a generous dollop into his palm and began rubbing in into Todd's hair, working up a lather. It was a bit inconvenient with their height differences, but it worked, and Todd clearly liked it, pressing into the touch as though it was more than just cleaning his hair. 

To be fair, it pretty much was. John had been half hard since Todd had begun rubbing the solvent into his skin. Taking advantage of the size of the shower and a wet Wraith was definitely on his agenda. He just wanted the solvent off first.

The cleanser did strip the stains off as Todd turned the water back on, leaving John's fingers and Todd's hair their normal colour once more. 

"I like you better without the lavender hair," John said, taking Todd's hand again, lacing their fingers together and pulling him close. The water made his skin slick, slippery against John. It was not a bad sensation. 

Todd didn't reply in words, just put an arm around John's waist and pulled him even closer, their bodies sliding together.

Wraith showers had rough floors, which prevented slipping. There was so many applications for that. For now, John took advantage to push against Todd as best he could, not letting go of his hand as he pulled him down for a kiss. While Todd was surprisingly good at kissing, it wasn't a natural gesture for Wraith. Touching their palms together was the Wraith way to show affection, and though it didn't feel like much to John, he liked the implications. Wraith only let those they trusted touch their feeding hands, and that was something he understood. Trust was not easily earned. 

Todd made a pleased sound and tightened his grip on John's hand. 

The water washing over them made a pleasant contrast with Todd's cool skin, the warmth making John feel lazy and pliant. Sex in a shower was one of those things that had always seemed nice in theory, but wasn't very practical. The Wraith shower design made it a viable option, though. 

Pulling Todd down again, he nuzzled against his neck, moving his free hand around to run it along Todd's spine, pressing against the side of the bone spurs. 

Purring against him, Todd mirrored the movement, though his hand moved on instead of lingering, reaching down to cup John's ass. His skin was amazing like that, wet and slick and so incredibly smooth. Sighing, John leaned into him, eyes closed, just taking in the contrast of Todd's skin and the warm water spraying over his skin. Honestly, he could be happy just like that. Getting off would be nice, but just the warmth of the water and the feeling of Todd against him was pretty much perfect. 

Not that he complained when Todd backed him slowly up against the wall, which was slightly softer than he'd expected, a slight give to it that kept it from being painful. The wall was warm, too, was warm as Todd was, instead of the normally cold shower walls he was used to. 

Pressing another bottle into John's hand, Todd licked his neck, biting lightly at the skin. 

"Damn vampire," John muttered, a warm rush of affection rushing through his body. He actually really liked Todd's need to leave marks on him, even if it did mean he had to wear more covering clothing than normal. It made him feel like he belonged, somehow. 

He didn't want to dwell on it. It wasn't as though he didn't know he had issues. As long as they didn't get in the way, he preferred not poking them too much. 

The bottle held some kind of slick gel that was clearly not water soluble, but very slippery. Apparently, the uses of a giant shower was well documented. He supposed he should be jealous that he wasn't the first person Todd had ever pinned to the shower wall, but really, he mostly found it hot. He knew he was Todd's first human lover, which meant that anyone else would have been Wraith and the only thing more appealing than one wet Wraith were two. 

A pleasant mental image to focus on as he worked the gel inside himself, stretching himself open. He didn't spend too long on it, just getting himself ready enough to get started. Pulling his hands free, John waggled his eyebrows at Todd, who chuckled and picked him up, holding him against the wall. 

John licked his lips in anticipation, wrapping his legs around Todd's waist to hold himself up. It was harder when Todd was wet and slick, but he just about managed, the wall and Todd's grasp on him helping greatly. Reaching beneath himself, he wrapped his fingers around Todd's cock and guided it against his ass. 

"Come on," he urged, wrapping his arms around Todd's neck. "I want to feel you."

Giving a pleased purr, Todd thrust up into him in a single smooth stroke, and John hissed in pleasure at the feeling. He didn't think he'd ever stop marvelling at how good Todd felt inside of him, thick and hard, the ridges dragging across his insides until he felt raw with pleasure. It took no time at all before John was arching against the wall, pressing himself down to meet every stroke. He felt like his insides were electrified, sparks running through his blood, and it was so ridiculously good. 

He'd had lovers before Todd, and they'd always managed to get him off without problems, but he was fairly sure Todd had ruined him for any new lovers in terms of expectations. The Wraith read him like an open book, knowing just how to move and where to touch to drive John half crazy with pleasure. 

As it was now, Todd had him trapped between himself and the wall, John's cock sliding against Todd's slick torso with every stroke, the constant stimulation making him squirm around as best he could without making Todd drop him. 

He could feel his orgasm building, his whole core tightening with every stroke. His cock twitched helplessly, trapped between them, and it felt so good. 

Todd grinned against his neck and licked the skin, tongue trailing down to John's shoulder. 

John had a moment of sudden realization a moment before Todd bit him, hard. He cried out, the sudden spike of sensation pushing him over the edge. He clung to Todd as he came, his nails digging into his shoulders, breathing hard. 

Chuckling, Todd licked the bite soothingly and shifted, thrusting up into John a little longer before his own climax coursed through his body, his grip on John tightening, his whole body shivering slightly as he came. 

He held him up for a while more before carefully putting him down. John wasn't entirely sure his legs would hold up, feeling like they'd turned to jelly, but he let Todd pull him under the spray and wash him off, leaning against him as he did.

Once satisfied, Todd turned the water off and opened the door, fetching giant towels and wrapping John up in one of them before drying himself off. He herded John into the bedroom and pulled him onto the bed, curling up around him and stroking fingers over John's skin. John kind of felt like purring himself, but lacking the proper anatomy, he wrapped himself into the bedding and rested his head on Todd's thigh. 

He always came off of missions with an adrenaline high, but that had worn off halfway through their shower and now he just wanted to take a long nap. No wonder Wraith hibernated. With Todd curled up against him like that, he felt safe and warm, more than he should in the arm of a predator.

He definitely had issues. 

He was simply beyond the point of caring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Shower sex


	21. Administrative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Office work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it still paperwork when no paper is involved? XD

Hanging around Wraith hive ships was actually pretty interesting. It allowed him to get a chance to see what Wraith acted like outside of conflict situations. 

As it turned out, it wasn't all that difference than what humans did outside of conflict situations. Their exact behaviour was different, of course, but from what he could tell, Wraith preferred to spend their time hanging out together and doing things. The exact things they did weren't the same, but the root of it was the same. John really didn't expect to find any of the expedition sitting around braiding each others hair, because by human standards, that was something grown men just didn't do. To Wraith, it seemed a pretty common bonding activity. It was hard for him to tell what was actually going on since he couldn't pick up much of the conversation. 

He did take the opportunity to have some of the younger Wraith teach him one of the games he saw being played a lot. He wasn't very good at it, and the young scientist with the double helix tattoo seemed to mostly be humouring him, but he was having fun, at least. It was odd to sit and play games with Wraith, and odder still to look at a Wraith and realise that they were still very young despite being hundreds of years. 

Currently, though, all the Wraith had cleared out, presumably off to work or sleep, whichever was on their schedule, and John was trying to track Todd down and not doing a very good job of it. It'd be nice to be telepathic, occasionally. Just a little bit. Enough to track down a single Wraith in a city-sized hive ship. A small city, perhaps, but still a city. 

Instead, he was more than a little lost. He knew if he stayed still, they'd find him eventually, but he hated being lost enough to require that sort of help. His strategy involved finding an intersection and following it to the end, hoping he'd find anything familiar to tell him where he was. He needed to start paying attention to more than just Todd when they were walking around, or he was never going to stop getting lost. 

"Sheppard?" Someone asked from the hallway to his left, and John turned to find himself facing Kenny, who looked pretty surprised to see him. 

"Hey," John said, lifting his hand in greeting, because he wasn't sure what to say. 

Kenny blinked at him, slowly, and did the Wraith head-tilt thing. "What are you doing?" He asked, sounding curious, but not hostile. 

That was a relief, at least. John couldn't shake the feeling that Kenny didn't like him much, but he didn't seem to have any problem with him at the moment. 

"I'm a bit lost," John admitted. "Usually I have a map when I'm wandering hive ships." Either that or Rodney had one, or he had Teyla with him and the whole problem was suddenly non-existent. 

"What were you looking for?" Kenny asked, still holding his head tilted. He had a tablet in his hands and had clearly been reading it before he'd come across John, the screen still scrolling lazily. 

John gave him a sheepish smile. "Your commander, mostly," he said, shrugging. He was pretty sure Kenny knew perfectly well what was going on between Todd and John, and he wouldn't be surprised if that was why he was always so standoffish towards him. 

"You are on the opposite side of the ship and five floors down," Kenny informed him, and there was actual amusement in his voice for once. 

"Huh," John said, looking at one of the walls, the wall he thought was nearer the outside. "I normally have decent sense of direction, but I swear the ship is doing something to my head or something."

Surprisingly, that got an actual smile out of Kenny. "I would not be surprised," he said, motioning for John to follow him. "I will take you to the Commander. If you keep going that way, you may fall into the access hatch for the top of the dart bay."

That wouldn't be good. It was a really long drop. "Thanks," John said, and meant it. He liked the hive ship a lot, but he was terrible at navigating it. 

With someone who knew the way with him, it didn't take long to get back to more familiar-looking places. 

"Here," Kenny said, and nodded towards a pulsing vein of light and fluid along the roof. "These lead to the core and out into the various areas. If you follow them, you can only get partially lost." 

Chuckling, John reached up and touched the vein. It felt surprisingly warm and a little like a water balloon, compressing under his fingers. "Thank you," he said again. "I'm fairly sure I could wander off and not see anyone for weeks on this ship."

"Probably," Kenny agreed. "We do not have the crew we should have." He didn't sound too pleased by that.

Looking at the Wraith, John frowned a little, then licked his lower lip. "Todd told me I should ask you what you preferred to be called," he said. "Instead of just calling you Kenny, I mean."

"That would be nice," Kenny agreed. "The Commander may accept your Naming, but I do not have any reason to." 

Frowning further, it was John's turn to tilt his head a little. "It bothers you a lot more than it does him, doesn't it?" 

Kenny made a derisive sound. "Only Queens rename a male once they have earned their first name," he said. "And they only do so when they seek to claim the male for their own. I am not comfortable with the implications." 

John blinked. "So by renaming Todd, I'm laying claim to him?" He asked, surprised. 

"Yes," Kenny agreed. "And it has not escaped notice that he accepts the Naming. Presumably it amuses him. He is a most practical male, but he does occasionally do pointless things simply for the pleasure of doing so."

Considering all the strange things he'd seen Todd do over the years, he could believe that. "Huh," he said, because he didn't know what else to say to that. "So what would you prefer I addressed you as? Your title?"

The Wraith was sub-commander of the Hive, but he was not the only one to hold that title, so that could become awkward fast.

"Normally it would not need explaining," he said. "But you humans cannot Speak as we do, and so we must work around that. You could not produce the sounds of my name in spoken form. But an accurate translation of the meaning into your language would be Drought. You may use that if you wish. I would certainly prefer that to your human name for me." 

Having heard Wraith language spoken, John was pretty sure Kenny - Drought - was right about his inability to pronounce it. It was basically Ancient run through a filter to sound like the speaker was possessed by evil spirits. "Drought, eh?" He said, nodding. It fit, somehow, dry and menacing like the Wraith himself often appeared. "I can do that. Might slip up a bit at first, but I can do it." 

"Some initial confusion is to be expected," Drought agreed, nodding his head, but there was a small smile on his lips. Apparently he found John amusing again. Better than annoying, he supposed. 

They walked for a bit longer before Drought stopped and nodded towards a nearby door. "The Commander is through there," he said, indicating the door. "Try not to get lost again, John Sheppard. Next time, there might not be someone there to find you." With that, he walked off, attention back on his tablet. 

John watched him go and turned his attention to the door. As he lifted his hand to knock, the door slid open, and John blinked owlishly at it before entering. Telepathy was definitely convenient some times. 

The chamber on the other side of the door was an office of sorts, a large display on one wall, some shelves on another, and a massive window to one side, the cold blue glow of hyperspace casting an eerie light over the chamber. Todd was sitting in the middle of the room, in front of the display, several tablets piled in front of him.

"You actually have a desk?" John asked, looking at the solid-looking piece of furniture. It seemed to grow out of the floor and had built-in light nodes. "I didn't take you for the paperwork kind of guy."

"Normally," Todd agreed, "I make my second-in-command do it." 

Chuckling, John propped himself on the edge of the desk. He didn't think Todd would care too much. It wasn't as though John actually read Wraith, so he wouldn't see anything he wasn't supposed to, and there wasn't any extra chairs in the room. "To be fair, that is what I usually do, too," he said, watching Todd work. He always enjoyed watching Todd's hands as he worked, his fascination with those long, agile fingers yet to cease. 

He didn't actually push all of his paperwork onto Lorne. He didn't like doing it, but he did what he had to do. None of them had a lot of paperwork to do, actually. They had administrative staff for a reason. He had no idea if there was such a thing as Wraith administration, though. Either way, Todd probably did have more to do than John did. John was military commander of Atlantis, sure, but he didn't have to deal with the civilian side. Todd, though, was running the entire Hive and they were apparently understaffed, so presumably, he had enough to do without paperwork. 

That, and he liked messing with people. Usually, it was the humans who were on the receiving side, but John wouldn't be surprised if he pulled his tricks on his own crew occasionally, too. 

Todd looked up at him and put the tablet he was working on aside. "Anything in particular you wanted?" He asked, smirking, apparently amused at something. 

"Well," John said, grinning back. "I was just going to hang around and wait for you to finish work, but now I'm considering how much this desk could handle." 

It was a very nice desk, and John was pretty sure it could easily handle their weights. He'd always liked the idea of being bent over a desk and fucked senseless, probably because it seemed like defiling an icon of the life his father had wanted for him, but his office had glass walls, and there was limits to how much he wanted to disturb people. 

The only window in Todd's office led outside the ship, though, and the chance of anyone walking past that was very low. 

Making a thoughtful purr, Todd looked at the desk, tilting his head in consideration. "I am actually not certain," he said, slowly, a grin creeping onto his face. "I do believe we should attempt to find out."

Returning the grin, John made himself useful and moved the tablets over onto the shelf, so they wouldn't mess anything up, then walked over and sat down in Todd's lap, kissing him hard, twining his fingers into his hair. Todd's arms came up around his waist, holding him in place, biting at John's lips and pressing his nails lightly into John's skin. Squirming, John pressed closer, lowering one hand to rub at the area where Todd's spinal spurs ended, the skin around the area surprisingly sensitive. 

He loved the way Todd smelled, a mossy, earthy scent with almost spicy undertones, and the leathery scent of his coat mingled into it wonderfully. Breaking away from the kiss, he leaned in and bit at Todd's jawline, following it up to nip at his earlobe. Todd liked it when he bit him, the deep rumble in his chest a dead give-away. 

Sliding his hands up underneath John's shirt, Todd lightly raked his nails down John's back, sending shivers down his spine. Those nails could easily do some severe damage, but Todd was remarkably aware of his claws, of his strength, well aware that John was fragile in comparison to him. It had annoyed John a bit at first, because he was used to considering himself fairly strong, but he would be lying if he said he hadn't learned to very much enjoy the feeling of being overpowered. 

Grinding down against Todd's lap, John chuckled against the skin of his neck, licking and nibbling as he moved. 

"Lift your arms," Todd told him, holding him steady with one hand on the small of his back. John did as he was told, lifting his arms and leaning back a bit so Todd could pull his shirt over his head and toss it to the side. 

The office was cooler than Todd's rooms usually were, closer to typical hive ship temperature, and John shivered a bit as the cool air hit his flushed skin, leaning forwards so he could kiss Todd again, rocking against him as he did. He'd never cease to be amazed at how easily turned on he was by Todd. It was almost like being a teenager again, though sadly without the refraction time he'd had then. He was already hard, though so was Todd, pretty evident when he was sitting in his lap like that, pressed as close as humanly possible. 

Todd returned the kiss hard, his hand cupping John's neck, his thumb stroking back and forth in an idle caress. He was a demanding kisser, dominating and forceful, and John loved every moment of it. 

When Todd pulled away, John bit back a small whimper. He didn't want to stop kissing. Todd seemed to have other plans, though, picking John up with ease and getting to his feet. He put John down on the desk and kissed him again, hard enough to leave John breathless. 

"I feel over-dressed," John chuckled, even though Todd was wearing way more than he was. He wasn't complaining, though. Todd looked damned good in his coat, the leather-like garment giving him an additional sharp edge. 

Chuckling, Todd stepped back, shoving his chair out of the way as he did. "Should you not do something about it, then?" He asked, looking at John with raw desire in his eyes. 

Dropping to the floor, John unzipped his pants and pulled them off, the rest of his clothes following. He shivered again in the cool room, but gave Todd a cocky smirk. "Better?" He asked.

Grabbing his waist and pulling him close, Todd kissed him once more, deep and rough. "Much better," he said as he pulled back, leaving John panting. 

John bent down and rooted through his pockets, finding the little bottle he'd stashed away. He gave Todd a sheepish look. "I might have had ulterior motives in coming to look for you," he admitted, holding up the bottle. He needed to bring one of those bottles back to Atlantis with him. The resin-like scent of the slick gel had become something he immediately associated with Todd and the moment he pulled the cork off and the scent hit his nose, his cock twitched in anticipation. 

Making an amused sound, Todd just watched him intently, a fond smile on his lips. 

Licking his own lips, John coated his fingers and slipped his hand between his legs, working the fingers up inside himself. He loved it when Todd watched him do that, loved how Todd's pupils dilated until they were almost round, arousal clear in his expression. He liked feeling desirable, even if it shouldn't mean anything. It still did. Besides, it felt good to slowly stretch himself open as well, like he was warming up to the main event, building up anticipation until he thought he'd burst, his cock achingly hard. 

"Turn over," Todd told him, the tone in his voice commanding but eager, a slight tremble not quite escaping his attention. "Hold onto the edge of the desk." 

The desk was pretty deep, but John could just about reach the edge and hold on. Lying bent over like that, his cock was trapped between his stomach and the cool surface of the desk. It was kind of maddening, and he wanted more, so he spread his legs as far as he could manage, lifting his hips up. He felt absolutely obscene like that, acting like a cat in heat, but he had very little dignity at the moment and he wanted Todd to just fuck him already.

If the Wraith wanted him to beg, he would.

It didn't come to that. Todd put his hand on the small of John's back again, holding him steady as he pushed into him, burying himself to the hilt. He held still for a moment, letting John adjust a little, then picked up his pace, thrusting into him hard and fast, just what John had wanted. He loved it when Todd was slow and gentle with him, but sometimes, he wanted to just be fucked, and Todd was happy to oblige. 

Biting his lip, John tried not to make too much noise as Todd pounded into him, the fast pace and deep strokes driving him into the desk again and again, his hard cock brushing against the surface with every movement. It was almost too much, the constant stimulation both on his cock and in his ass making him feel like he was on fire. It felt so good, so incredibly good, every stroke leaving him needing more. The thick, hard cock in his ass kept dragging over his prostate, brushing against it over and over. 

Digging his nails into the surface of the desk, John clenched his teeth hard as he came, his cock pulsing, making a mess beneath him. A half-strangled moan escaped his throat as he did, and he slumped forwards a bit, his stomach sticky from his own come. 

Todd rumbled, leaning over him and grabbing onto his hips with both hands as he thrust a few more times before coming himself, a growl erupting from his lips. Leaning in further, he pressed light kisses against John's neck and shoulders before pulling out.

John just laid there for a moment, catching his breath, basking in the afterglow of his orgasm. He didn't want to move just yet. 

When he finally did get to his feet, Todd had found a cloth somewhere and handed it to him, letting John wipe himself clean before pulling him in for another kiss, slower and more gentle this time. John leaned into the kiss and let Todd take the lead, enjoying just being touched for a moment. 

"That was way more fun than paperwork," he finally said, looking up at Todd. 

The Wraith chuckled, stroking the his hand lightly down John's spine. 

Kissing him one more time, John eventually stepped back and pulled his clothing back on, watching as Todd wiped the desk off and threw the cloth into the disposal. "Much left to do?" He asked, looking at the tablets on the shelf. 

"A bit," Todd said, though he sounded almost regretful. 

"I'll just sit over here, then," John told him, gingerly sitting down on the floor by the window, looking out at the blue swirls of hyperspace. 

Walking over, Todd put one of the tablets in his lap, making it cycle through several screens until the display showed a set-up with patterned squares moving around at various speeds. "It is a puzzle program," he explained. "We use it for mental exercise. It should not require understanding of our language." 

Prodding the screen, John found that certain of the tiles linked up in certain ways, to form patterns. "Thanks," he said, grinning up at Todd. That actually looked pretty fun. 

Making that rumbling sound of pleasure again, Todd walked back to the desk and went back to work. 

Curling up with the tablet, John felt a warmth spread through him that had nothing to do with temperature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: On the desk


	22. Playing the Crowd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New types of threats require new ways to handle them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been a long time coming. Literally. XD 
> 
> Anyway, this has public sex and some power-play/humiliation themes. Possibly slightly dub-con-ish at first because it starts out as something only done for the mission, but they get into it pretty quickly.

The village was strangely quiet. Typically, the villages and settlements they visited were bustling with energy, but this place was a pale shadow of that. People were staying in, hiding away, peering out the windows at them. It made sense, considering they had just been culled, but it was still odd to see. 

The village leader was an older woman, short and plump with a face that looked like it was more at home smiling, but her skin was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes as she slowly told Teyla what had happened to her people, her fingers twined so hard around the ends of her shawl that her knuckles were turning white. 

It was the same story they'd heard several times now. Wraith who showed up on foot, rounded up the villagers and picked out a group to take them away. They sent in humans first, to scout the area, and dragged their chosen humans away without any comments. The leader was a very tall Wraith with a tattoo that looked like a spider beneath his left eye. They'd heard the same story on many worlds, always the same Wraith and the same strategy. 

Like always, they promised to send whatever help they could, especially since most of the people taken were the strongest and healthiest, the ones who would have done most the work in the villages. There were little else they could offer. 

Not even hope.

Back on Atlantis once more, they'd gathered in the meeting room but none of them seemed to know what to say. 

"The problem," John said eventually, sitting up, "is that we have no way of tracking down the Wraith responsible. If we could do that, we could stop him, but there are a lot of Wraith out there, and tracking down one in particular is not going to be easy." 

Finding a single Wraith on a hive ship was hard enough. Finding the right hive ship first would be all but impossible. 

Teyla looked uncomfortable. "I have never heard of Wraith acting in such a manner," she said. "They never come by foot." 

Wraith were normally quite predictable. It was not like them to suddenly change the rules. The people in the galaxy had been as upset by the change in strategy as they had the cullings. Cullings were a part of life in the Pegasus galaxy, but they followed a certain pattern. When that pattern changed, it made people more nervous than the normal cullings did. If this had been something that had gone on a long time, people would have heard about it. They would have heard about it. 

Instead, there was a Wraith out there changing the rules and they had no idea where he was or what he was planning. 

A Wraith who needed to be stopped. 

"I guess we only have one option," John sighed, looking at the tablets scattered on the table, each showing a different report from a different village. "We'll have to ask Todd."

If they'd been tracking them on the ground, Ronon would probably have been able to find them without any problem what so ever, but if they wanted to track a Wraith in the galaxy, they'd need another Wraith, and preferably one that wasn't currently trying to eat them. The problem with that tactic was that Todd only ever helped them when he had something to gain from it. Asking him might not do anything at all. 

It was the only thing they had to go on, though.

Woolsey looked decidedly unhappy about it, but nodded. "Dr. McKay, send a message to the subspace array," he said, nodding. "Let's just hope he wants to talk to us." 

John didn't think they had too much to worry about. Todd only refused to talk to them when he was really angry with them for some reason, like the Attero device fallout. He would either get something out of helping them immediately, or they'd owe him a favour. Either way, it benefited him, and Todd was far too smart to waste a chance to get them in debt to him by not at least hearing them out. 

*

As it turned out, John was right. It took a few days before they heard back from Todd, but eventually they found themselves facing the giant screen in the control room, with John explaining the situation as best he could, down to every detail they had about the spider-marked Wraith. Some of the details were pretty vague. The reports said he was tall, which all Wraith were, and long-haired, which described most of them. The description of his tattoo, though, got a reaction; a rounded crescent with eight lines coming off of it, four curving up beneath his eyes, the other four down his cheeks. 

On the screen, Todd nodded slowly. "I know the Wraith of whom you speak, yes," he said. 

"You wouldn't happen to know how to find him?" John asked, because he knew it wasn't going to be as easy as that. It never was. 

Todd tilted his head, clearly considering if it was worth it. Finally, he nodded again. "I do not know which Hive he currently belongs to. They are a clan with many ships to their name. But I can find him off his ship."

Apparently, helping them was currently worth more to Todd than helping his own kind.

"That doesn't help us that much, though," John pointed out, because while Todd was perfectly capable of killing his fellow Wraith, and didn't seem to have moral objections to do so, he probably didn't want to be their assassin. "Besides, it won't help us track down the people he has taken, or stop the rest of his hive from following in his footsteps." 

They'd probably have to take out the entire hive ship to prevent it from going on. Nothing they hadn't done before, but it was never easy, even when they knew the location of the hive ship. 

Nodding again, Todd looked thoughtful again. "It should be possible to plant a tracker on him, like the one I wear. They would probably find it eventually, but if you keep your sensors on, you should be able to mark the ship before they do."

"And we're supposed to think you'd do that for us?" Rodney demanded from behind John. "Out of the goodness of your heart?" 

Beyond Rodney, Ronon snorted, clearly not buying it. 

"Of course I would not do so 'out of the goodness of my heart' as you say," Todd told them, baring his teeth in an all-together unpleasant smile. "I do so for the sake of our alliance.You have proven useful allies, and I would prefer not being your enemy." 

"We're supposed to trust that?" That was Ronon, his dislike of the situation evident in his voice.

Todd made a small sound in the back of his throat, sounding fairly unimpressed. "You are very distrustful," he said, folding his hands neatly in his lap. "I cannot offer anything else."

"Any way you could get one of us close enough to put a tracker on?" John asked, looking at the screen. "That way we'll know it's tracking what it's supposed to track and that you're not tricking us. Just to be certain, you understand."

"That would not be impossible," Todd agreed. "The Wraith you are looking for belong to a group that surrounds themselves with worshippers. It would be much easier to bring a human into their presence than most Wraith." 

Things were going too well. John didn't like it when things went too well. It always meant that something much worse was on the horizon. 

"It would have to be you, of course, Sheppard," Todd said, grinning again. "Teyla Emmagan cannot do it. Her mind is too strongly present. Doctor McKay does not have the self-control to be quiet in the sense of danger. And I do not trust Ronon Dex not to shoot everyone present, myself included."

That was probably a pretty accurate description of what would happen. Looking at the others, he had to hide a smile. Rodney looked indignant at the comment, face flushed with anger. Ronon looked angry, though no more or less so than he had at the start of the transmission. Teyla looked almost pleased at having her mental strength acknowledged. 

It didn't really change anything, though.

It had to be John who went. Theoretically, there were probably a few others who could work. Todd respected skilled scientists, and he liked Zelenka and Kusanagi, but whoever went had to play worshipper in a place filled with Wraith who weren't Todd, and John couldn't put any of the expedition members in such a position. Most of them probably would do it if he asked, but he would not ask them to place themselves in that kind of danger. He couldn't ask.

He didn't think Todd would hurt him. They had an understanding of sorts, however tentative, but more importantly, John was more useful to Todd alive and unharmed. He couldn't trust Todd to do the right thing, but he could trust him to do the logical, practical thing. Morality wasn't really an option in this case. Wraith might have a concept of right and wrong, but John doubted it'd match up with the human concepts.

Everything else aside, Todd was not human. It wouldn't do to expect him to act like one. For all that Todd showed remarkable comprehension of the human psyche, and exceptional mimicry of it when needed, it wasn't in his nature to act like humans did.

For one thing, humans didn't live to be ten thousand. He couldn't imagine living that long, the things Todd must have seen and done in his lifespan a completely alien notion to him.

"I'll do it," John said, shrugging, trying to not show the prickling of danger at the back of his consciousness. "Won't be the strangest thing I've ever done." After the bug incident, nothing really seemed strange any more. Just unsettling.

Ronon and Rodney both looked like they wanted to protest, but they knew as well as he did that John was pretty much the only viable choice. John appreciated their concern. He was placing himself in what was a possible trap, but he had little other choice. He had to trust that he was more useful to Todd alive than dead, and that their alliance was worth enough that he'd be allowed to leave.

On the screen, Todd nodded again. "It will take me some time to arrange things," he said. "I will contact you again when I have the details ready. You should keep your tracker ready in the meantime."

"We'll be ready," John said, and wondered if Todd could tell he was lying even through the screen.

*

They were ready. John wasn't. There was few things he found less appealing than spending time among Wraith, with no other backup than Todd, but he had little real choice in the matter and it had to be done. Woolsey had wanted to send backup with him, but they'd only be able to go as far as Todd's hive, and that wouldn't do any good at all. So instead, John was waiting at the rendezvous point alone, shivering without being certain if it was the wind or the tension that caused it.

It felt like he had stood there for ages when the gate dialled up, the familiar whine of a Dart screeching through the air. Even if John had planned to run, he wouldn't have had the time. The beam swept him up before he could even move.

He was deposited in the dart bay, in front of a tall, severe-looking Wraith with a stylized feather tattoo. The Wraith looked him up and down and didn't seem impressed by what he saw.

"The Commander is currently in a meeting," the Wraith said, voice even and calm. "If you follow me, I will take you to somewhere you may wait."

John shrugged and allowed the Wraith to lead him through the ship. He was in no particular hurry. There were hours still before they were to attend the meeting, and he didn't feel like socializing with Wraith more than he had to.

The Wraith led him to a small set of rooms, which had to be meant for worshippers originally. There was a sitting area, a small bedroom and a small bathroom, not impressive in size but surprisingly comfortable. Dropping down in one of the seats, John leaned back and waited.

He hadn't brought his clock and it was very hard to tell the passage of time on a spaceship, so he wasn't sure how long it took before Todd finally deigned to make an appearance, the door sliding silently open to let him inside.

Todd was nicer dressed than he normally would be, wearing an intricate coat that was obviously tailored to fit him. The coat fit him like a second skin, flaring out dramatically from his hips. It was a very effective look. 

"Sheppard," he greeted, sitting down across from John. "We will be arriving in about three earth hours." 

That was far too long to spend on a hive ship and not nearly enough time to be ready to jump into shark infested waters. 

"So what's the plan until then?" John asked, looking across the table at the Wraith. 

A slow, sharp grin crept onto Todd's lips. "You will be learning how to be a worshipper," he said. "And we will have to find you something else to wear. "

The latter part had not been entirely unexpected, of course. John was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, so he wouldn't look like like he was part of the expedition, but he still didn't dress like someone of the Pegasus galaxy. He'd considered borrowing something, but the only one who had anything even remotely appropriate was Ronon, and John wouldn't fit in Ronon's clothing to save his life. Not that worshippers always had the best clothing, but John was pretty sure that the worshippers who were brought to this gathering were not just any old worshippers.

Learning how to be a worshipper was going to be interesting, though. John didn't take orders easily.

"Fine," he said, nodding. "Do your worst."

In retrospect, that might not have been the best thing to say to a very competitive Wraith. He spent the next two hours having Todd drilling him in how to best imitate the perfect worshipper. There was a lot of rules and expectations.

"Always walk behind me," Todd told him, having him stand up so he could show him the appropriate distance. "Keep your eyes down and watch your body language. You are too confrontational. Worshippers do not challenge Wraith." 

John tried to emulate that dead-eyed appearance the worshippers he'd met had, as though their souls had fragmented under the Wraith's touch. He wasn't convinced he quite managed it, but Todd watched him and pronounced it good enough. 

"You are there as my worshipper," he said, arms crossed over his chest. "Nobody else gets to touch you. If they do, tell me immediately. Touching another's worshipper is considered a severe offence." 

That didn't surprise John to hear at all. Wraith were terribly territorial sometimes. 

The wing-tattooed Wraith returned with clothing for John to wear, and Todd took them from him, pressing the bundle into John's hands and ushering him into the bathroom to change. 

The new outfit consisted of a dark olive shirt that was open far enough down the collar to show the feeding scar and soft charcoal pants. There was no shoes or socks offered, but John didn't think it was something worth getting angry over. He believed in picking his battles. The shirt's colour actually didn't look half bad on him, making his eyes look brighter somehow. Carefully making sure he removed everything that could identify him as part of the Atlantis expedition, John slipped the tracking device into his pockets. The outfit was a lot softer than he'd have expected, and made a huge difference in making him look like an actual worshipper. 

He returned to the main room to find Todd idly playing with a length of braided leather, one large and wide braid made up of many smaller braids, made from even smaller braids again. As John came in, he looked up and motioned for John to come closer. 

"It would be best if you wore this," he explained, holding the leather cord out. With the closure showing, it was clear that it was a collar of some sort. "I will not force you to wear it, even if it is only for the duration of the gathering, but it would help the illusion greatly.

The leather was pitch black and had a peculiar sheen. It was not an unattractive collar, and it looked more decorative than anything, but John couldn't help but feel hesitant to let Todd put it on him. Still, they'd need all the help they could get, so John tilted his head back and bared his throat in wordless agreement. Todd gently slid the collar around his neck and fastened it, making sure it sat properly. 

"Good," he said, looking John over. "You look as ready as you ever will be. Remember that other Wraith may not address you without my consent. Other worshippers may, but I advice you to talk to them as little as possible. Your behaviour might rise suspicions, and most of the humans there will not hesitate to tell on you to their masters."

Nodding, John gingerly touched the collar around his neck, trying to get used to its presence. 

"Do you think you will manage to keep your act up once we are among hostile Wraith?" Todd asked, sounding genuinely curious. 

"I don't really have a choice," John pointed out. If he made a mistake, they'd be found out, and not only would both their lives be in danger, they'd lose their chance to get the spider-marked Wraith. At the moment, he had to be prepared to do anything to keep that from happening. 

Todd snorted. "No," he agreed. "You do not." He handed John an sturdy-looking comb. "My hair needs care before we attend. You should handle it."

"Why?" John demanded, though he still took the comb. 

"Wraith use all our senses when analysing a situation," Todd explained, sitting down to allow John better access. Touching will make our scents blend better." 

As was often the case, John had no idea if Todd was serious or not, so he just took the comb and began working through it. Feeling ambitious, he put several micro-braids into Todd's hair as he finished up, surprised at how soft Wraith hair actually was. 

At the end of their journey, Todd made John run through all the rules and patterns again, until he straightened up, clearly listening to something in his head. 

"We have arrived," he said. On cue, the ship dropped out of hyperspace. "Let us go to the dart bay."

Ignoring the lump threatening to form in his chest, John followed behind him, practising perfecting his worshipper look. 

 

*

There was a lot of Wraith in the gathering area, a underground facility of some sort with its own gate attached. Not all of the Wraith had come by ship. There were a lot of worshippers, too, and John did his best to emulate their downcast eyes and subservient attitude. It didn't come naturally for him, and his curiosity made it worse, wanting to look around more, but he thought he managed to avoid drawing undue attention. 

There was a lot of things going on that he missed out on since he couldn't hear the conversations, but John tried to focus on finding his target without letting anyone see him looking. He kept his head down as best he could and stayed behind Todd as he had been told to do. Much as he hated taking orders like that, he was severely outclassed there. If they caught him, both of them would be in a lot of trouble. 

One Wraith, tall with fern-like tattoos swirling over most of the left side of his face, pulled Todd aside, wrapping a long-fingered hand around Todd's left wrist. The touch eased private communication, John knew, and he wondered who the other male was and what he wanted. Uncertain what to do, John kept his head lowered and joined the fern-marked Wraith's worshipper, a small slender man with what had to be albinism, his face and hair very pale, his eyes a strange lavender hue. The worshipper gave him a very brief little grin, as to say that he saw through John's disguise but that he wasn't going to say anything. Apparently, not all worshippers were unwilling. 

Not surprising, considering his condition. There was a lot of superstition connected to pigmentation issues in the Pegasus galaxy. It never looked good for a village when someone bore a child that could pass for being part Wraith. Chances were the Wraith might treat a person with such a condition better than their own people did. 

They didn't speak, because neither of them had been given leave to do so, but John didn't mind taking a little break, keeping a careful eye out both for the target and on what Todd and the other Wraith were doing. Judging by the fact that Todd hadn't pulled away, John guessed the other Wraith was an ally of his. 

A younger Wraith, without a worshipper of his own, wandered over, circling them slowly, and John had to force himself not to show his frown. The Wraith was far too close for it to be acceptable by Wraith rules. He lifted a hand to reach out and touch John's shirt, but never got further, Todd grabbing his wrist hard and slowly, deliberately growling at him. Immediately, the younger Wraith backed off, clearly not willing to try his luck with an older Wraith.

"This way," Todd leaned in and whispered, brushing past John as though he was wearing a sweeping cape or something. Falling back into his role, John followed, staring at the floor as he did. 

"Over there," Todd murmured, tilting John's head to stroke fingers through his hair, as though he was a pet. The gesture let him look around, though, and he noticed what Todd had referred to immediately. The spider-marked Wraith was standing nearby, a couple of inches taller than Todd, two pale-faced worshippers on leashes attached to his hand. Their eyes were completely empty, and John wouldn't be surprised if they were from one of the villages. 

They kept on the spider-marked Wraith for a long while, but approaching him proved difficult. He clearly had no real interest in talking to Todd. 

Eventually, the Wraith looked to be ready to leave, and John knew he had to do something. He let himself drift a little further from Todd for every time they moved, putting some space between them, and then veered off course, bumping into the tall spider-marked Wraith. Giving his best impression of mortified, wide-eyed fear, he pulled back, letting his hand slide along the hem of the Wraith's coat, fastening the tracker on the inside. 

He really hoped Todd was as good at improvisation with other Wraith as he was with humans.

Todd was hissing something as he stalked over, grabbing John by the collar and yanking him back, shoving him to the floor. In full intimidation mode, Todd was terrifying, hair and coat flaring out in perfect unison, and John cringed deliberately, leaning into his legs as though seeking forgiveness. 

The spider-marked Wraith had his teeth bared in a sharp, vicious grin, and there was obviously a lot of conversation going on that John couldn't hear. 

Finally, Todd bared his own teeth, all sharp edges, and dug his nails painfully into John's scalp. "He means well, but he is still learning," he said out loud. "Are you not?" He tilted John's head up as he said the last, looking down at him. 

Faking a terrified shiver as best he could, John nodded rapidly, rubbing his head against the hand.

"You should break him in better," the spider-marked Wraith said, voice soft and cruelly amused. "My worshippers never cause trouble."

Tilting his head as he looked at the dead-eyed worshippers in question, Todd let his disdain show. "Anyone can break their toys," he said. "It takes much more skill to take them apart and put them back together to your specifications." He petted John's hair softly, with slow rhythmic strokes. 

"Besides," he continued, giving a smile that had absolutely no friendliness behind it at all, just implied threats and a lot of malice, "he is a good pet. So eager to please."

Another Wraith involved himself, this one slightly shorter and slighter than both Todd and the spider Wraith. His worshipper was as tall as Ronon and even bigger, an impressive feat, and looked mostly delighted to be leashed. "Obedient, is he? I would not mind to see that." He grinned, more friendly than Todd and the other Wraith in the way a tiger looked friendlier than a great white shark. "Night Clan Wraith so rarely take personal worshippers," he continued. "I would love to see what makes this one so special."

John hadn't missed the sexual connotations to the way the worshippers were treated, and he didn't miss the innuendo in the new Wraith's tone. He knew perfectly well they were on shaking ground already, and it was all resting in his hands. 

Making up his mind, John looked up at Todd through his eyelashes, trying to look submissive and eager at the same time. "Master?" He asked, rubbing his head on Todd's thigh. 

There was a lot of eyes on them, most of them cold and yellow, waiting for any slip-up. John wasn't going to give them a reason to tear them apart. 

It wasn't such a hardship. While he frequently wanted to strangle Todd for being a cryptic bastard, there was no denying that the Wraith had a very carnal effect on him, and he'd done worse, for worse reason, than to suck cock in public. He'd never done so to an audience of immortal space vampires, but there was a first time for everything.

Apparently, Todd picked up on his resolve, because he kept lazily stroking John's hair like a treasured pet. "They are curious about you, pet," he said, voice sounding surprisingly unaffected, even if John knew how much Todd hated having his plans upset. "Why not show them what makes you special?" 

Taking that as his cue, John focused on blocking out everything else around them, reaching up to unlace Todd's pants and wrapping his fingers around his cock, stroking it slowly, coaxing it into being hard enough to pull out of the pants. Todd was significantly longer and thicker than anything John had ever had in his mouth, but he liked a challenge. Slowly pumping the shaft with his hands, he straightened up enough to take the tip into his mouth, sealing his lips around the head and sucking. 

He always had liked giving oral sex, because it was so easy to see when his partners were really enjoying it, and the presence of so many people, most of them Wraith, just watching John suck cock like he was some kind of porn star, turned him on a lot more than he'd have expected. 

Opening his mouth as wide as it'd get, he took as much of Todd's cock into his mouth as he could manage, aggressively bobbing his head as he did.

Todd gave little physical indication of anything, but his cock was rock hard in John's mouth, slick with saliva and pre-come, and it was clear that he was enjoying himself a lot.

Pulling back, John dragged his tongue down the underside of the cock, pulling back until his tongue was just barely touching the head. He swirled his tongue around the glans, dipping the tip into the slit and pumping the cock with his hands at the same time, before pulling off entirely, scattering kisses along the whole length. Todd's cock was magnificent, heavy and thick, and it seemed designed to draw as much pleasure from his partners as possible, especially the ridges. Those got extra attention, his tongue tracing every ridge up and down, thoroughly. 

He could feel the gazes on him like fire, and he was pretty sure his skin was completely flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and need, but it only spurred him to move faster, sucking and licking every inch of skin he could get to. It was a ridiculous turn on to have so many people watching, anticipating, and he wanted nothing more than to make it worth it. 

At one point, he accidentally scraped his teeth over Todd's swollen cock, but the hiss and the way Todd thrust into his mouth when he did was a clear sign he didn't mind in the least, so John added that to his routine, occasionally nipping very lightly at the skin. 

His jaw was beginning to go sore when Todd finally reached his climax, the come half on John's face, half in his mouth. He swallowed reflexively, reaching up to wipe his face off. After a brief moment's hesitation, he licked his fingers clean. He'd already swallowed half of it. Hopefully, Wraith healing meant STDs weren't an issue. Or allergies, because that would be just his luck. 

His own cock was still achingly hard, but he knew better than to expect Todd to return the favour. Not there, with everyone watching. Instead, he stroked John's hair again, reassuringly, and John leaned into the touch because it was better than nothing. He was not extremely tactile, but right then, it felt very nice to just be petted. 

It seemed to have had the effect they'd wanted, too. Nobody seemed particularly suspicious any more, just amused and aroused, which was not a bad response to get. 

Coming down from his focused state, John mostly felt embarrassed. 

Todd had laced his pants back on and took John's wrist, leading him to one of the nearby chairs, pulling him into his lap and stroking his back surprisingly gently. "Well done, Sheppard," he whispered, mouth so close his lips brushed against John's ear as they moved. "They are distracted now." 

He kept petting John, just touching him, but John wasn't fooled for a moment. Todd was paying complete attention to the room, and nothing escaped his notice. Most of the other Wraith had either left or had dragged their own worshippers off into corners, but there were a few exceptions. The Wraith with the fern tattoos was sitting on the other side of the room, his pale worshipper resting his head on his lap, the Wraith's fingers in his hair. With them, it seemed almost affectionate. John suspected Todd was talking to the Wraith, and that they were both waiting for something.

The spider-marked Wraith had been slowly circling the room, his worshippers right behind him. It was him that held Todd's attention, and what little attention John had left, and when he finally walked out of the room, dragging his leashed followers, John felt a wave of relief course through him. 

Pulling John to his feet, Todd left as well, though at a more sedate pace, letting John walk calmly behind him. They were swept up in a dart almost immediately after leaving, and the tingling effect of the beam only made John ache more. 

They headed for the bridge, where Todd wasted no time in calling Atlantis up and informing them the tracker was online. 

"You should mark the hive ship in question on your sensors," he told them. "The tracker could be discovered at any time. The sooner you send a team, the better your chances."

On the display, Woolsey was nodding. "We'll send them as soon as Colonel Sheppard returns," he said.

John really didn't want to go raid hive ships right at the moment. He wanted to get a shower, jerk off and sleep for a day. Still, duty called. 

"I will return him to a planet with a gate as soon as possible," Todd agreed, inclining his head and turning off the transmission.

He took John back to the room he'd been put in at first, closing the door behind them. 

"Sheppard?" He asked, looking at him, something almost like concern in those yellow eyes.

"I'm fine," John promised, because he was. He had a sore jaw and a severe case of embarrassment, but he was otherwise fine. It had been his choice. The crowd would probably have been satisfied with Todd punishing him somehow, which would have been more painful, but probably less embarrassing.

Sighing, Todd stepped closer to him, burying his face in his hair momentarily. "Sheppard," he said, and his voice was suddenly a lot more raw and edged. "If you didn't have to go hunt down that Hive, I would have already have bent you over the nearest surface." 

Shivering, John leaned against him. Apparently Wraith had fast refraction periods. Useful to know. 

"Maybe another time?" John asked, because every fibre of his being really liked that idea. 

Baring his teeth, Todd leaned in and bit John's neck hard enough to leave a sizeable bruise. "The next time we meet, Sheppard, I am keeping you until we have both had our fill." 

He sighed, licking the bite mark before stepping back. "Now go get a shower before we ruin all our hard work." He smirked at John. "I imagine you'll want to take care of yourself before returning to Atlantis."

"I guess I'll have something to use as inspiration, then," John offered, and refused to feel more embarrassed than he already did. He was going to jerk himself off imagining all the things implied by Todd's promise, and he refused to let that bother him. 

Todd laughed, a raspy, dry sound. "You are a menace, Sheppard," he said, making the bathroom door open and shoving him through. "There will be a next time. Soon." 

"There better be," John told him, as the door slid closed between them. 

First, he had a creepy kidnapping Wraith to deal with, but after that, he was pretty sure he had some vacation days owed to him still. 

And now he knew where to spend them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: In public place
> 
> Yes, one of the prompts left over is going to be the sequel to this, because I can't have Todd promising something like that and not delivering. XD


	23. Tied up at the moment (Please Hold)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neither of them back down from a challenge easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly late, sorry. I had migraines all day, so I took a nap and my schedule got all messed up.

It had been Todd who'd given him the idea at first. 

They'd been in bed, relaxing in the afterglow of some pretty intense sex, and John had been tending to his wrists, which Todd had been holding in place. 

"One of these days," he'd told him pointedly, "I'm going to find something strong enough to hold your arms pinned against the headboard and see how you like it!" He didn't really mind it when Todd pinned him, quite the opposite, but sometimes he felt a bit overwhelmed. 

Todd had chuckled and taken John's hands in his, lifting his wrists to his lips to gently the half moon marks from where his nails had dug in. "If you can find a way to hold me in place, Sheppard," he'd promised, "you may do whatever you wish to me." 

Sighing in pleasure at the soothing relief that brought, John had smiled. "That sounds like a challenge," he'd pointed out. Sometimes, he wondered if Todd forgot that humans could be every bit as competitive as Wraith usually were, or if he simply didn't consider it at all. 

"Everything can be a challenge if you chose to take it as one," Todd had informed him, grinning widely.

John had hit him with a pillow. 

Todd's philosophical musings aside, though, John had rather liked the idea, and he liked the idea of showing Todd not to underestimate human ingenuity and tenaciousness even better. It had just taken him a while to come up with anything. They still had the Wraith shackles they'd used to make Todd wear, but they were clunky and unattractive and John was pretty sure Todd had mostly just humoured them and could have torn the leather part easily if he'd wanted to. 

Safely restraining Wraith was notoriously difficult. 

He was pretty sure the Wraith themselves had ways to do it, but he'd feel terribly awkward asking any of them, considering that Wraith were strictly hierarchic and might not appreciate him having evil plans for their Commander. That or they'd laugh at the whole situation. Being a telepathic species, he was pretty sure the other Wraith of the Hive were quite aware of relationship he had with Todd, at least the basics of it. Todd was apparently very good at blocking the others out, but all it'd take was for one of them to suspect, and it'd spread. 

It'd explain some of the amused looks he'd gotten from the younger Wraith the last time he was on the hive ship. 

He'd expected more anger, but then, Todd had said that his Hive was made up of those he trusted. Apparently they trusted him as well. 

In the end, it was Rodney and Radek who gave him the idea. The two of them had been bickering like an old married couple again, which was nothing new, but they'd mentioned the personal shield device that Rodney had found the first year. They'd found more of those since then, though none of them were powered enough to hold a full shield for long. John didn't need a full shield, though, just a localized one. If that worked, it could make putting cuffs on people a lot more convenient in the future, no clunky chains and ATA activation. 

At least that was how he pitched it to the scientists, who took the idea and ran with it in a lot of directions John hadn't even considered. 

As a result, he had forcefield restraints that were magnetized to each other, letting the restraints be attached to anything. He'd acquired a set by promising to get Todd to test them out. After all, it wasn't often they had a chance to test their devices on a cooperative Wraith, and the science team had been happy to let him have them.

For his own and their sanity's sake, he refrained from mentioning the exact way he was planning on testing them. 

The first part was already attached on the headboard of the bed, so he wouldn't have to fumble with it later. 

The other one was lying ready. 

All he needed now was a willing Wraith. 

It'd been a while since he'd last seen Todd. They were both very busy, and didn't have that much time for each other, which was an unfortunate side effect of being in command. Todd was on Atlantis currently, though, reporting on some hives that both factions were tracking. While Todd was perfectly capable of dealing with his own enemies, it cause him less trouble to pass information on to Atlantis and let them take down the ships. It meant he gained less enemies and could keep obtaining information for their alliance. At least that was the general idea. John was pretty sure there was more to Todd's agenda than that, but as long as he wasn't a threat to Atlantis, he didn't really care too much about whatever Wraith politics Todd was involved in. 

Human politics already gave him enough of a headache.

Todd was currently in a video meeting with the IOA, who were understandably anxious about the whole alliance with a Wraith idea, and they'd requested that only Woolsey and Todd attend the meeting. In the meantime, John had retreated to his rooms and made sure he had everything ready. He was uncharacteristically antsy about the whole thing, and it had seemed better to wait in his rooms than to fidget around the gate room.

He was normally a pretty laid-back person. When he was fidgety, it made people nervous, and it wasn't like he could just explain that no, he wasn't worried about anything big, he just planned on tying a Wraith to his bed. It wouldn't go down very well. 

By the time Todd showed up, John was almost having second thoughts. It might have been Todd's words that inspired him, but he had no idea how he'd react, and John didn't want to mess up whatever it was they had for no real reason. As fun as it would be to have the upper hand for once, he was perfectly all right with their sex life the way it currently was. His curiosity demanded he try, though. He'd just have to make sure Todd was willing to play along. 

"How was the meeting?" John asked him, watching Todd shrug out of his coat and hang it up,

"Taxing on my patience," Todd replied, grinning at him. "I do not have the time for their petty bickering."

John chuckled. "You're immortal," he pointed out, walking over to take Todd's hands in his and kiss him lightly. 

"And I still do not have the time for them," Todd agreed. "That should tell you all you need to know." He pulled John in and returned the kiss. 

"Come to bed," John told him. "I'll help you take your mind off of things."

Smiling, letting go of John to undress, Todd made a pleased little sound. "That sounds nice," he said, his voice warm. 

Wriggling out of his own clothing, John crawled onto the bed and waited for Todd to join him. The Wraith had more clothing to remove than he'd had. 

There were days when John was pretty sure just making out with Todd like that, curled close to each other in bed, bare skin against bare skin, was all that he really needed in life. Not that he didn't love the sex, he very much did, but that was just an added bonus. A very nice bonus. The way Todd felt against him, though, all that smooth cool skin against his, the feathery feel of his hair falling across John's skin, and their lips moving against each other, biting and sucking, that was something else entirely. 

He could do that for hours, and it was almost tempting to try, just forget his plans and lean into Todd's arms, but John didn't get to where he was without pushing his luck occasionally. 

Normally, he liked taking a bit of a risk. 

So he kept his eyes out, and when he got a chance, he grabbed the other part of the device and pushed Todd's arms above his head, pressing them neatly against the headboard. There was a flash of green shimmers as the field activated, and John sat back a bit, watching Todd for his reaction. 

Todd tugged at his bonds, first carefully and then with more force. The field showed no sign of yielding. John was pretty sure the headboard would give way before the field did. 

Letting his arms fall back, Todd made a decidedly amused snarl and looked over at John. "Very clever," he said, tilting his head. "Is it your idea?"

"My idea," John agreed. "McKay and Zelenka built it. They intended it for more of a prisoner restraint, but I promised I could have it tested on Wraith strength."

Chuckling, Todd shifted a little, getting comfortable. "And what do you intend to do with me now that you have caught me, I wonder?" He asked. 

John hadn't really thought too much about that, in fact. He'd been more worried about if and how it'd work, and less about what to do with Todd if it did. "You're OK with this, then?"

"You are well within range of my legs, Sheppard," Todd told him, grinning at him. "If I had not been willing, I could easily have stopped you." 

That much was true. John had seen the kind of damage a Wraith could do with his legs if they wanted to. 

"I did say you could do with me as you wished if you could hold me," Todd reminded him. 

"Yeah," John agreed. "You did."

He crept closer, kneeling between Todd's legs, looking down at him. Seeing Todd like that, spread out and on display for him, was strange. Hot as hell, but strange. He'd expected more resistance from Todd, considering the whole dominant Wraith male thing, but then, John was not a challenger, not out to try taking his place as Commander. Had he been Wraith, he might not have gotten nearly as well away with it as he was. Besides, dominant male or not, Wraith males were wired to let the Queens take lead, so perhaps it wasn't so unlikely for Todd to take the passive role.

Truthfully, there was no submission in his body language. There was a challenge, waiting to see what John could do. 

It was a challenge John could run with. He bent down and licked a wet trail up the underside of Todd's cock, keeping an eye on his reaction. He was well aware of how Todd normally reacted to things, but things tended to feel more intense when restrained. He didn't mind giving Todd a taste of his own medicine, but he was not going to do anything that wasn't pleasant for them both. 

Todd's reactions seemed positive, though, so John put more attention into the blow job, bobbing his head up and down, nipping gently at the skin. He loved the feel of Todd's cock in his mouth, loved how thick and heavy it felt, and the way the ridges felt on his tongue. As he worked, he stroked his hands up and down the inside of Todd's thighs, digging his thumbs into the flesh and rubbing circles. 

The responses Todd gave weren't verbal, but that was to be expected. As a telepathic species, speaking out loud was not natural to Wraith. It was easy enough to read his reactions anyway, the rumbling sounds of pleasure he made in his chest a dead give-away, the way his toes twitched whenever John touched somewhere particularly pleasant a telling sign. 

Humming around his mouthful, John took as much of the cock into his mouth as he could, letting the tip slide down his throat. He still couldn't take all of it, though not for lack of trying, and he might not ever be able to, but Todd seemed to love it anyway. Normally, his hand would be in John's hair by then, and John kind of missed it. 

After a while, he let the cock slip from his mouth, trailing saliva over his lips as it did, and sat back, leaning over to the night table to get the bottle of lubrication he kept there. 

Holding the bottle, he looked at Todd, questioningly. 

"That is the Wraith formula," Todd noted, shifting a little again. 

"I may have brought some home with me," John agreed. "I like the scent better." It had a strange smell, like wet earth and resin, and it shouldn't be as arousing as it was.

Chuckling, Todd moved his foot into John's lap, brushing across his hard cock. "You think too much," he said. "It is not like you."

John snorted, shoving the leg out of his lap. "You calling me stupid?" He asked, though he knew Todd didn't think him the least bit stupid. 

"I am calling you impulsive," Todd corrected him. "Normally, at least. Improvisation and impulse are your strengths. Play into them."

That was true, of course. Todd was the schemer, the strategist with plans for every outcome. John leapt into it and tried coming out on top.

Especially apt in his current situation. 

He uncorked the bottle and coated his fingers with the slick gel, leaning back in to scatter kisses and little licks over Todd's cock as he slipped his fingers up beneath him. He already knew Todd didn't mind being touched like that, but it was different in this context. His other hand ended up on Todd's stomach, stroking gently. 

He had to estimate how much was enough. Preparing himself was easy enough, because he knew how much he needed and how much he could take. It was different preparing and he preferred erring on the side of caution. 

Todd hissed at him after a while. "You are taking too long," he told him, shifting impatiently. 

"Just making sure you're ready for me," John told him, grinning. It figured Todd would be demanding about something like that. Just because he was tied to a bed and taking the passive role didn't mean he couldn't take control of the situation. 

"Sheppard," Todd purred, leg twitching as John pressed his fingers into his prostate, "you cannot hurt me. Literally." 

It was probably true, but John liked seeing him squirm. Grinning even more, he leaned in and bit the inside of his thigh. "Shush," he told him as he let go. "We're getting there."

He was achingly hard and wouldn't last much longer, so there was a limit to how much he could drag it out. Shifting his position, John pulled his hand free and poured some more gel into his palm, coating his cock liberally. It was a very long time since he'd been the active partner in bed, but he was pretty sure it was like riding a bike. 

Wrapping one hand around Todd's cock to stroke him lazily, John used his other hand to line himself up and pushed forward.

Todd was tight around him, tight and cool and slick, and he made a strange little sound in the back of his throat as John's cock scraped against his prostate. John could feel his cock twitch in response. It felt amazing, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to hold out long. Setting a steady pace, he picked up the speed of his hand on Todd's cock, too, and was rewarded with Todd wrapping his legs around his waist, pulling him closer, making him move a little faster. 

The contrast of his own body heat with Todd's much lower one made it feel even more interesting, and he angled his hips up so he could get the deepest possible strokes. 

Purring, Todd pressed back against him as best he could, obviously enjoying himself. 

John almost felt like in a trance, his world narrowing to only be aware of Todd and nothing else. He loved the tight, slick grip around his cock and the purrs and hisses he managed to draw from Todd's throat. 

At some point, Todd must have broken something, because his arms ended up wrapped around John, helping him set the pace. John was beyond caring at that point, burying his face into Todd's neck and just panting, little breathy gasps of warm air across his skin. 

A particularly vigorous thrust ended up sending Todd over the edge, come spilling wetly across John's hand and their stomachs. He clenched harder around John as he came, and it only took a couple more strokes to get John over the edge as well, gasping against Todd's skin, clinging to him.

They held onto each other like that for a while before finally letting go. John rolled over and got the towel he'd laid out in advance, wiping them both down. His eyes kept threatening to close on him, so he tossed the towel in the general direction of the hamper and curled up with his head on Todd's chest. Being the active partner was exhausting, he decided. Fun, but exhausting.

"You didn't break the headboard, right?" He asked, too tired to lift his head to look. 

Todd chuckled and petted his neck lightly. "The device turned off," he said.

"Ah." That was the disadvantage of using thought-controlled technology for bondage. He'd wanted Todd to touch him at the end, and so it had let him go. Still, all in all, he felt it had been a success. "Was nice, anyway."

"Yes," Todd agreed readily. 

They both knew this wouldn't be something they did often, because honestly, it wasn't what either of them preferred. John was glad he'd gone with it, though. It had been a lot of fun. 

"We should test experimental inventions more often," he murmured. There was probably a lot of other fun things they could try.

If he hadn't been falling asleep, he might have realised that that, too, could be taken as a challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Trying new position


	24. Delicious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking some time for some sweet treats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mixed up the order again, people. Today should have been "shy" but I couldn' t think about anything to write for it so I went with something I knew I could come up with a scenario for. I can't imagine many situations where shy applies to these two. I did get an idea during writing this, though, so now I know what to go with!

Considering the way most of their missions went downhill so fast, John was always equally surprised when a mission went off without a hitch, and even more surprised when they actually ended up with a very lucrative trade deal because they met people who had a surplus of food but were lacking in manpower to harvest it. There were few members of the expedition that weren't willing to spend a couple of days each working the fields in trade for delicious food and friendly company. 

He was sure the latter was a big part of why they'd gotten so many volunteers to sign up for the harvest assistance. The Minasians were a very open and friendly people, and there were a lot of attractive people among them. Technically, there were rules against getting involved with the Pegasus natives, but those rules were mainly in place to keep any expedition members from using the power and reputation of Atlantis to coerce people into sexual situations. Flirting with friendly trade partners didn't really do any harm, not as long as it was all consensual and safe.

Besides, John really didn't have any business telling anyone they couldn't have sex with Pegasus natives when there was currently a Wraith in his bed. 

Granted, at the moment Todd was just lying in a sunny spot , draped on his stomach with a tablet in front of him, soaking up the warmth like a cat. There was nothing really inappropriate about that, except the implications of it being John's bed. 

Chuckling, John brought his tray over and put it on the bed, sitting down with his leg tucked underneath him.

"What are you up to?" he asked, peering at the tablet. Not surprisingly, it was in Wraith, so it didn't tell him much of anything. There were blips. Presumably they were important blips. 

"There has been many encroachments into our territory lately," Todd said, shifting slightly so he could look up at John. "I am devising a way to effectively track any hive ship that trespasses and report back to the closest of our Hives, as well as a pattern to deal with such intrusions." 

Wraith politics made John's head hurt. 

Apparently, his expression said as much, because Todd chuckled and sat up, putting his tablet away. "It is nothing I need do right now," he promised. "It is simply something I mentioned once that I would do and my Clan Primary has been inquiring after it." 

"Better not keep her waiting?" John asked, chuckling a little. Wraith Queens were scary as hell on their own, and from things Todd had been mentioning here and there, John was pretty sure that Todd's Clan Primary was also his mother, which probably doubled her intimidation factor a lot. 

Todd gave him a small grin. "She can wait another few days," he said.

John appreciated that. He wasn't about to start playing the demanding lover, wanting Todd to only focus on him, but their lives and responsibilities kept them apart a lot. It was nice to only have to focus on each other when they were together for once. 

"What is with the food?" Todd asked, leaning over to snatch a piece of fruit from the tray, some kind of melon-like thing with pale and semi-translucent green flesh. 

"We made a very good trade agreement today," John explained. "Food for manpower. They sent us a lot of samples, and seeing as we're between supply runs at the moment, the chance to eat anything that isn't the same two dishes every day appealed to me." 

Nodding, Todd tilted his head to look at the fruit piece in his hands. Wraith had a pretty strange relationship with human food in John's experience, though Todd did occasionally eat or drink things simply because he wanted to. 

"You should try some of this," John told him, uncorking the vacuum flask he'd brought. "I have no idea what it's made from, but it tastes kind of like Earth hot chocolate. Just a bit fruitier." 

He knew Todd rather liked warm drinks, and he liked fruit, so he might like the drink too. He poured two cup and passed one to Todd, who cradled the cup in his hand and lifted it so he could smell it. Apparently, it passed the inspection, because he took a sip. 

"That has a pleasant texture," he commented. 

The drink was rich and velvety, closer to drinking yoghurt than anything.

"It does," John agreed, sipping his own cup happily. He looked at the tray. All the foods he'd brought were either desserts or naturally sweet. Normally, John actually preferred savoury foods, but it was a long time since he'd had something sweet that wasn't stale chocolate bars. He picked up a piece of the fruit Todd had been so fascinated by. No wonder, the flesh of the fruit was pretty much Wraith-skin coloured, at least if you went with Todd's lineage, which seemed to tend towards pale jade in hue. 

The fruit tasted like a mixture of cucumber and lime, but not as sour. It was a surprising taste, but not bad. He made a pleased sound and picked up another fruit. That one was vivid orange and tasted like honey and roasted nuts. 

"You look entirely too pleased," Todd teased, watching John try the various food. He reached over and picked up a deep purple fruit, holding it out to John. 

Glaring playfully at him, John leaned in and ate the fruit from Todd's fingers, licking the juice off of the skin as he did. The purple fruit tasted like a combination of pear and something spicy, like cinnamon and a touch of chilli. Not a bad taste at all.

He swallowed and licked across Todd's fingers again. "Mmm, fruit-flavoured Wraith." 

Todd laughed a little at that, picking up another piece of food, holding it out. 

If that was the game he wanted to play, John was game. This time, it was a kind of a steamed bun, and the inside was filled with some kind of sticky, caramelized sauce. It was hard to identify just what it tasted like, but it was good. The sauce clung to Todd's fingers, and it took John quite a bit of work licking it all off, not that he minded. From the look in Todd's eyes, he didn't mind, either. 

Returning the favour, John offered Todd a piece of the honey nut flavoured fruit, watching as Todd leaned in and carefully took it from his fingers, agile tongue flickering against John's skin as he did. 

Pleased, John leaned in and kissed him. He tasted like honey nut fruit and the rich fruit drink, a strange but pleasant sensation. 

They ended up taking turns to feed each other fruit, licking the juice and nectars off of each other's fingers, until they were both more interested in each other than the food. 

Pulling his shirt off, John threw it to the side and watched as Todd did the same, always enjoying the contrast of the way Todd's dark clothing looked as they moved across his pale skin. He kissed him again, lightly, and on an impulse, sat back a little and dipped his fingers into his now cooling drink, tracing the liquid over one of Todd's tattoos and leaning into lick it off. Fruit-flavoured Wraith was definitely becoming one of his favourite things. 

He took his time, slowly lapping up every trace of the liquid and then doing it all over again, tracing a different tattoo. 

Todd rumbled against him, clearly enjoying himself, even if he did seem to find it mostly amusing.

When he ran out of tattoos to play with, John sat back up and kissed Todd once more, at the same time undoing both their pants as best he could. It was a bit awkward, but he managed somehow. 

They pulled away to undress entirely, before getting back on the bed. John grinned up at Todd and picked up one of the buns, pulling it apart to get at the sauce. Giving Todd a playful wink, he spread the sticky substance over his cock and leaned in to lick at it. The sweet, caramel flavour really did go very well with Todd's natural flavour. 

Grabbing John's arm for a moment, Todd made him lay down so that he could stroke John's cock as John worked, his long fingers wrapping around him and stroking steadily. John licked his lips, shifting his hips into the touch, and went back to the task at hand. 

The sauce was very sticky and very thick, and it seemed to thicken up further when exposed to the air, but John was up for the challenge. He licked along the shaft, occasionally pausing to suck at the skin where the sauce was the thickest, swirling his tongue around and coating every inch of Todd's cock with his saliva. He loved the feeling of the velvet skin against his lips and tongue, the way it felt in his mouth, and the sauce was rich and sweet and tasted so good.

The Minasians would be horrified, he was sure. 

He grinned and took as much of the cock into his mouth as he could manage, sucking happily, trapping his tongue between his lip and the underside of Todd's cock, making it slide along as he bobbed his head. 

Purring happily, Todd was stroking John's cock firmly, the thumb rubbing up and down the underside, pressing lightly into the flesh. The feeling made John thrust his hips into the touch slightly, rocking back and forth against Todd's hand, desperately trying to increase the friction. 

John moaned a little around his mouthful and sucked harder, putting his hands to use as well. 

In response, Todd lightly dragged his nails over John's cock, so light they were barely there, but the added sensation still made John twitch. 

Pulling his head back, John resumed licking, the last traces of the sauce dissolving under his tongue now. He lifted his head a little and blew a stream of cold air over Todd's cock, making Todd hiss in pleasure and tighten his grip on John's cock. Apparently taking it as a challenge, he slipped his hand further down to gently palm his balls, rolling them lightly in his hands. 

Eventually, John bucked into the touch and came only moments before Todd did, both of them shuddering a little as their orgasms pulsed through them. 

That was the nice thing about sex. It didn't matter who won the race; they both got the prize. 

Leaning in, John licked Todd clean, the taste of semen really interesting with the flavour of the sauce still in his mouth. On his end, Todd did the same, cool tongue leaving wet trails on John's stomach. 

John rolled over so he could look Todd in the eyes, and chuckled. "You taste nice," he told him, still feeling boneless and giddy from orgasm. "Even without the fruit flavouring."

Todd chucked and leaned in, flickering his tongue across the tip of John's nose. "You are rather delicious yourself," he said, smiling. 

That should have sounded a lot more ominous coming from a Wraith than it did. Trust was funny like that. There was a time being called delicious by a Wraith would have made him want to get as far away as he should. Now, he laughed and curled into Todd's embrace and just basked in it. 

Neither of them had expected that, the first time they met. No matter how much all bets were off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: With food
> 
> Feeding each other is a much bigger deal with Wraith than John realises, I suspect. Even with human food.


	25. Playtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Score one for Wraith ingenuity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I could have written basic sex toys here, but Todd had other ideas. Story of my life. 
> 
> Consider this a sequel of sorts to day 23.

Wraith were patient. It came naturally to them, considering their life spans. It was easy to wait for something when you knew you literally had an eternity for it to pan out. They also had excellent memories, remembering even the little things for a very long time.

In retrospect, John should have expected retribution. He was the one who had to open his mouth and suggest experimenting more.

Not the smartest thing to suggest when your lover was really old and extremely clever. Todd had had millennia to come up with ways to drive his partners up the walls. 

To be fair, John wasn't exactly complaining about his current situation. Mostly he was annoyed at himself for being caught of guard. Of course, even if he'd been expecting it, it wasn't like it'd have helped any. Todd could very easily pick him up and throw him over his shoulder if he wanted to. He'd stop if John told him to stop, of course, but there was little room for playfully fighting back, either. 

Good thing John liked it when Todd manhandled him. 

One of the things Todd had apparently learned at some point was how to make the ship itself useful for holding people in place. The silken material used for the cocoons was very strong and surprisingly supple, and Todd had wrapped it neatly along John's arms and around his chest, so that John was kneeling on the bed, his arms bound above his head, leaning forwards a little. It was actually surprisingly comfortable, the silk more than strong enough to hold his weight. He just couldn't move, and Todd knew that, staying behind him in his blind spot because he thrived on playing games like that. 

Not that John minded. Todd hadn't really touched him except to wrap him into the silk, but he was already hard from anticipation. He liked it when Todd felt like playing with him. His lover was very good at taking him to the edge of his limits without ever pressing him too far. 

He could hear Todd move around, which meant he did it on purpose, to heighten the anticipation. Normally, Todd barely made any noise when moving, especially not when he was out of his coat and boots, with nothing to rustle or stomp. 

Walking around to where John could see him, Todd reached out and stroked his fingers along John's neck. "You are comfortable?" He asked, looking at the silken ties around his arms and his chest. 

"Yeah," John said, nodding as best he could. It wasn't the position getting to him, at least. 

Grinning slowly, baring his teeth, Todd lifted his head up a little to meet his eyes. "Good," he said. "When I make you squirm, it should not be from pain."

John shivered a little at the promise in those words, but he matched the grin as best he could, giving Todd his best challenging look. He was pretty sure he'd do what Todd wanted eventually, but he wasn't going to make it easy for him.

Todd leaned in and kissed him like he meant to suck the air from his lungs. It was a hungry, eager kiss, and John loved every minute of it. 

Pulling away, Todd walked out of view again, this time not making any sound, making it impossible for John to tell where he was. He jumped a little when Todd's hands grabbed his thighs, rubbing up the insides. He'd never thought his skin particularly sensual until Todd, who loved just touching him all over and trace strange patterns on his skin. They were close to Wraith tattoos, he suspected, idle markings that might have adorned his skin if he was Wraith. 

Something cool and rigid slid up against his ass, resting there for a moment. It was slick, slick and smooth and tapered, and it seemed to give off that slick substance. He made a small groan of pleasure as it was pressed into him, the rounded cone shape making it easy to push in. 

"What is that?" He asked, clenching around it. He could feel the oil seep out from it slowly. 

"We use self-lubricating rods as part of the neural net for the ship," Todd explained, stroking his hand soothingly over the small of John's back. "I adapted some of the technology for this use. It will slowly prepare you while I play with you." 

John had to keep in mind that Todd had been a scientist before he became hive commander. It took a special kind of mind to come up with something like that.

The plug felt really nice in him, too, large enough at the hilt to hold him somewhat open but not too large for comfort. Custom designed sex toys for the perfect fit. 

"Your mind is a special place," John chuckled. He really liked Todd's mind, especially when it led to things like that. 

Chuckling, Todd moved again, stroking his hand down John's stomach to circle his cock briefly, giving it a slow stroke before letting go. He moved back up to John's field of view again, holding something up to show him.

The thing had a triangular shape, the points long and slightly curved downwards. The middle of the triangle had a open slit, and there was a gem set in the back of it. It looked vaguely familiar and kind of creepy. 

"Do I even want to know what you're planning with that?" John asked, grinning. He doubted Todd would hurt him. The Wraith knew his limitations well. The thing just looked scary the way all Wraith tech did. 

Leaning in, Todd purred as he pressed the triangle over one of John's nipples. 

It immediately latched on, using suction to hold in place, the tips of the triangle digging slightly into the skin around it. 

John gasped, biting back a curse. It didn't hurt, as such, but it pulsed slightly and it felt really weird. Weird in a good way, but strange and alien. 

While he was getting used to the first one, Todd slipped another one onto John's other nipple and fastened a length of chain between them. Rumbling in pleasure, he tugged at the chain and sent sparks through John's body.

That was almost a bit much, but it felt so good. John bit his lip a little, trying not to whimper. "You're evil. Did you know that?"

Todd only chuckled. "If you only you could see yourself right now," he purred, stroking his hand down John's chest again. He reached up and flicked a nail against the chain, sending it swinging. 

The swinging was less intense than the tug had been, but there was something moving inside the slits of the clasps, undulating against John's nipples, and he gasped again, shifting slightly. 

Moving again, Todd went to fetch something else, and came back bearing a glowing orange rod. "Do you know how our stunners work?" he asked. 

"Mostly with the effects," John admitted. They obviously did something to knock people out, but he'd never cared about the details. 

"They overload the sensory and motor nervous areas of the brain," Todd explained, playing the the rod. "This does the same, but on a much smaller, localized scale. It is not as long lasting, nor is it as strong." 

To demonstrate, he slowly ran it over John's shoulder. The skin tingled under the touch, like static electricity, but it faded quickly once the rod moved. 

"Do you think you can handle that?" Todd asked, and it was obviously he didn't just mean the sensation but the idea of a stun rod near his skin in the first place. 

John nodded. "Just don't put it on my face. I don't think I'd like that." The pulsing field it emitted would be unpleasant near his eyes.

Making a sound of agreement, Todd moved the rod along John's spine, from the neck and all the way down. John shivered underneath the strange feeling of energy prickling across his skin. It made him feel a lot more raw and vulnerable, but it felt really good at the same time, the energy seeming to stimulate the muscles almost like a massage. He made pleased little sounds as Todd slowly ran the rod all over him, avoiding his face and his genitals. 

Every now and then, Todd would pause to play with the chain or stroke John's cock, teasing him lightly, or to kiss him, nipping at his lips and tongue.

Finally, John found himself pretty much gasping and shivering constantly, and he arched into Todd's touch. "I can't take much more," he said. "I'm really close to coming already."

"Good," Todd purred, putting the rod away somewhere. "You have done very well." He got onto the bed behind John and pulled the plug out of him.

The sudden absence made John whimper, hips pushing back.

Stroking his back slowly, soothingly, Todd lined himself up and pushed into him, John's body offering very little resistance. The plug had done its work, loosening and slickening him up. Grasping his hips, Todd set a fast pace, thrusting into him with obvious eagerness. Apparently John wasn't the only one who'd been enjoying himself. 

Every thrust sent the chain on John's nipples swinging, adding extra stimulation, the clasps sucking themselves onto him harder. It felt amazing, almost painfully good. 

As overstimulated as he was, it didn't take John much to reach his climax. His whole skin still tingled slightly, and though the plug had worked him open, Todd was bigger and thicker and filled him up perfectly, and it felt so damn good. He arched back against Todd as he came, clenching around him. 

Todd gripped his hips harder and angled his thrusts even deeper, lasting a while longer before coming, hissing as he did. He leaned against John for a moment before pulling out, using his claws to cut through the silk so John could shift positions. 

Slumping to the side, John smiled up at him. "You're crazy," he told him fondly. "Totally and utterly."

Lying down at his side, Todd rumbled in amusement. "I have not had cause to create things for a long while. You are a good inspiration."

John laughed and curled into him. "Glad to be of service," he said, turning over so he could kiss Todd slowly. 

"Just so you know, though?" He continued, once he had to pull away to breathe. " There is bound to be weird ATA activated sex toys somewhere on Atlantis, and don't think for a moment I won't track them down." 

Todd laughed, his body rumbling against his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: With toys
> 
> Because apparently, adapting Wraith tech into sex toys is easier than I'd have thought. The plug was just something I came up with randomly, but the nipple clasps are basically much less evil versions of the [Wraith tracker design](http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100128174412/stargate/images/b/bb/WraithTrakerConceptArt.jpg) and the rod is a powered down version of [those things](http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Wraith_stun_rod) Todd literally had up his sleeves in _First Contact_


	26. Domestic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arguments and making up; the little domestic things in life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John is entirely too reckless with his own life sometimes. Todd does not approve.

"Remind me again why I thought it was a good idea to jump off a cliff?" John asked, gingerly prodding his ribs. The doctor on duty had assured him that nothing was broken, but his sides were pretty bruised, his ribs an ugly purple. 

"Because you have the self-preservation instinct of a disconnected Masked," Todd told him, a peculiar sharpness to his tone.

John winced. "Ouch," he said, and it wasn't just because his ribs hurt. He'd seen what the Wraith drones were like when they weren't receiving directions. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't like Todd to be that sharp with him. Normally, he only got that snappy with Rodney, and that was because Rodney could annoy a rock. 

Letting go of his shirt and slinging his towel around his shoulders, allowing to to cover him properly, he walked over to where Todd was sitting on the narrow cot, sitting down next to him. 

"You're angry with me," he noted, looking at Todd. It was not the snarly, hot rage he sometimes showed, either. That anger was easily visible. This was something more subtle. "If it's about not seeing the guy before he shot you- " 

"That is not it," Todd interrupted. "I am already healed. I merely do not understand why you insist on being reckless with your life." The frustration was evident in his voice. 

Sighing, John looked down at his feet. He was barefooted, having just changed out of his wet clothing a few hours before, and he'd been stuck in check-up and debriefing since. "It's not like I'm out to get hurt or anything," he said. "It's just my job to keep my people safe, you know. That guy had a detonator, and I was out of ammo. If he'd detonated the bomb, we'd all have died. Tackling him off the cliff was the better choice. There was a lake below it; chances were I'd be fine." 

"You value your life that much less?" Todd asked, voice oddly soft. 

"It's not that I value my life less than any other life," John tried to explain. "It's just that if I can save many lives by giving up one life, that's a win in my books. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and all that." 

He chuckled slightly. "And I can't believe I just quoted Star Trek at an actual alien."

"You should not have to make that decision," Todd murmured, but shifted closer, lightly covering John's hand with his. He smiled a little, almost hesitantly. "Next time, let me take care of the unbalanced Genii with explosives."

John leaned into him. "Sure," he said, grinning. "You can tackle people off of cliffs with much less injury." Not only did he heal faster, Todd's skin and bones were a lot tougher than their human equivalents. 

Todd made a soft sound of amusement. They both knew he didn't have to tackle people off of cliffs to deal with them. 

Resting his head on Todd's shoulder, John sighed. "Why is it always the Genii, anyway?"

"Because confusion and disorganized thoughts is a known side effect of radiation poisoning and there are many among them who would manipulate that," Todd informed him, lacing their fingers together. 

"There is that," John agreed. "Guess I'll send Lorne over to have a chat with Ladon Radim. I'd do it myself, but Lorne is less likely to pick a fight." Besides, for whatever reason, Radim seemed to play nicer with Lorne. Maybe he felt guilty for the whole imprisonment and faked death thing. It was hard to tell with the Genii. 

Chuckling, Todd looked down at John. "I feel it says a lot about you that you would rather jump off of cliffs than do diplomatic missions," he informed him.

John laughed. "See, you like manipulating people and messing with their heads, so playing at politics comes naturally to you. Me, I'm a simple guy. I like action. I'm not a plotter." He lifted his head so he could lean up and kiss Todd, lighter than he'd have preferred because their position was somewhat awkward for it. 

Shifting slightly to make it easier on them both, Todd returned the kiss, putting his free arm carefully around John's waist, mindful of his bruised sides. 

When John pulled back, it was with some reluctance. "Hang on," he said, pressing a light kiss to the tip of Todd's nose. Getting to his feet, he walked over and locked the door. "No fancy locks on the ship," he said. "Don't want to be disturbed." 

He came back and sat down on the cot facing Todd, to make kissing a lot easier, finding the Wraith's hand again and lacing their hands together, palm against palm. He could feel the feeding organ against his skin, but it had long since ceased to be anything but familiar. Todd made a pleased sound and squeezed John's hand gently, leaning in to kiss him again.

It was remarkable how good they'd gotten at working around every issue kissing like that involved, how to deal with Todd's teeth and John's comparative fragility. Then again, they had been getting a lot of practice. 

At some point, John's hand had ended up twisted into the fabric of Todd's shirt, and Todd's free hand was resting on John's neck, cupping the back of his head. 

"I am not convinced we should be doing this right now," Todd said, pulling away to let John breathe. "You are injured." 

"And this cot is tiny," John mused. The Daedalus crew quarters were clearly not designed with sex in mind. "I really want to do this, though," he said, kissing Todd again. 

Making a thoughtful sound, Todd nodded against him. "We will simply have to be careful." 

John chuckled and fluttered his eyelashes playfully. "Please be gentle with me?" He asked, managing to stay serious for about a second before bursting into snickering. 

Really, Todd usually were. The strength discrepancy between them forced him to hold back, adding an extra challenge to it. 

Chuckling, Todd nudged John over onto his back, crawling on top of him to kiss him again, mindful not to rest his weight on John. 

It kind of reminded John of college, trying to get off in a narrow bed without drawing attention. Of course, none of his college lovers had been quite as good at what they were doing as Todd was. Had they been, John doubted he'd have been able to stay quiet. It was a good thing there were nobody in the room with them, and that the rooms were at least somewhat sound proof. 

"Let me up for a moment?" He asked, wriggling a bit.

Todd pulled back, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the low ceiling above them, watching him carefully. 

"Can't undress when you're on top of me," John explained, sitting up to peel himself out of his clothing. They weren't even his, just spares he'd borrowed from the infirmary, and there was no point in making a mess out of them, or getting them caught up in Todd's claws. Wouldn't have been the first piece of clothing he'd ruined that way. Todd was patient up until the moment he wasn't, and then he was more than willing to shred John's clothing off of him. Putting the clothing on a nearby chair, John laid back down and grinned up at Todd. 

"All yours," he said.

In response, Todd gave a low, rumbling sound of satisfaction and pulled his own clothing off, putting them neatly to the side before crawling on top of John again. 

Normally, John could take Todd lying on him, even though he was pretty heavy, but with his sides all sore, he was glad Todd had the sense to hold himself up, resting his weight on his arms rather than on John. He still got the feeling of being covered he'd come to like so much, so he wasn't too bothered. 

They ended up spending a long time just kissing and touching, hands roaming over each other's bodies, seeking out the more sensitive spots instinctively. John dragged his fingers down Todd's back, pressing into the muscles below his touch, rubbing against the sensitive spots where the bone spurs along the spine broke through the skin. When he pressed hard enough, Todd would move against him, hips sliding forward, brushing their cocks together, which felt really nice. In return, Todd would nip at John's neck, lavishing licks and kisses over the places he'd bit, until John did the same thing, bucking up against him. 

"There's oil in my pockets," John eventually gasped, waving a hand in the general direction of his pants. He'd made sure to transfer the little bottle before throwing his wet clothing in the hamper. 

Giving an amused rumble, Todd leaned over and fished the bottle out, uncorking it to sniff the contents. "This smells very pleasantly," he noted, handing the bottle over. 

"Coconut oil," John noted. "Apparently, it's great for skin moisturising." He shrugged as best he could while lying down. "I just like the smell. It does seem to help with the calluses, though." His hands tended to crack a bit from the gun handling and frequent shifts in humidity and temperature they went through. He didn't always keep it on him, of course, but he'd rather be prepared when hanging around Todd than to be caught without if they needed it. 

He coated his fingers and pressed them inside himself, working himself open and ready. It didn't hurt that the oil felt amazing on his skin, either. 

Bowing his head so he wouldn't hit the ceiling, Todd sat back and watched him, eyes gleaming. 

Grinning, John finished readying himself and motioned for him to come back over. 

He made a pleased little groan as Todd crawled back on top of him, sliding inside of him as he did. Between the narrow cot with the low ceiling and John's bruised side, they ended up setting a slow, steady pace, moving against each other, John's face buried against Todd's neck.

Chuckling, he leaned up to nip lightly at Todd's ear. "Missionary with the lights out, huh?" He said, even though he knew Todd wouldn't get the reference. "Very domestic." 

Todd simply purred against him, never missing a beat.

Much as John loved it when Todd was being all aggressive and rough on him, there was something to be said for slow, leisurely sex sometimes, just lying back and enjoying the feeling of Todd moving steadily within him. It might not be the most interesting sex they'd ever had, but it felt very good anyway. Normally, he'd be so caught up in sensations it all just washed over him, but like that, he could actually lie back and bask in the pleasure, feeling it slowly build up. 

The position was good for making out, too, kissing and sucking at lips and tongues as they rocked against each other. 

At some point, Todd had grasped John's hand again and was holding it, fingers tightly twined together. 

The slow build meant that when John came, it was less of an intense pulse and more being pushed over an edge he'd been going slowly towards, and he arched into Todd as he went over, giving a low moan. Todd moved against him for a while longer, purring richly, squeezing John's hand as he came. He rested his head against John's collar bone for a moment, collecting himself, before pulling free and getting up to retrieve the towel John had been using to dry off earlier, wiping as much of the mess they'd made up as possible. 

Feeling pleasantly worn out, John scooted over as best he could to let Todd join him. The bed was really not made for two, but they could just about fit if Todd was on his side. They'd fit better if John were, too, but he'd rather not try. In the end, Todd ended up half on his side, half draped across John, their legs tangled together. 

"I'm sorry I jumped off a cliff," John said, softly. "I mean, I'll probably do something like that again, but I'm not doing it to upset you." 

Todd caught John's hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it gently. "You cannot change your nature any more than I can change mine," he said. "We will probably argue about such things again. We are very different, you and I. Arguments are inevitable."

John smiled at him. "You are the only person I know who out-stubborns me, so yeah. As long as we make up again afterwards."

"You will find that I am very hard to get rid off," Todd said, still holding onto John's hand. "Wraith are tenacious."

"As are humans," John pointed out. "When something is worth fighting for."

Purring, Todd leaned in to kiss him again. "Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Boring sex


	27. Marking Territory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Making their claim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a little late. I was on the phone with my mum for ages and I didn't want to tell her "I'm sorry, but I need to go write porn for that show grandma and I always talk about."
> 
> She might have told my grandma, and my grandma ships John/Elizabeth. In-family ship wars is a sad thing. XD
> 
> The promised sequel to day 22. Hope you enjoy! :D

"Colonel Sheppard?"

John blinked as he sat up, trying to figure out what that voice was. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. There was nobody in the room with him, and he'd taken his headset off before going to bed, which meant that they were calling him on the intercom. That was never a good sign. 

He fumbled around for the headset and put it on. "Sheppard here," he said, not quite holding back the yawn.

"Sorry to wake you, Colonel," Woolsey said, switching to the headset now that John could hear him. "But I need you to come up to gate control."

"Right," John said, running his fingers through his hair. "Just let me get dressed." 

He didn't bother with his uniform. He was off duty, and didn't want to bother with putting on a ton of layers. He grabbed some sweatpants and a shirt, though, not about to go up to the gate room in his boxers. Woolsey wouldn't have woken him up without good reason, so he wasted no time in heading out the door.

The gate room was subtly crowded, a lot of people hanging around trying to look busier than they actually were. That was actually a relief to see; if they'd been under attack or anything like that, people would have been much busier with other things. He made his way up the stairs to the control centre.

"You rang?" He said, looking at Woolsey. The other man didn't look too upset, which made John wonder why they'd needed to drag him out of bed. 

"We have a transmission I thought you should be part of," Woolsey explained, nodding to one of the screens.

Following his eyes, John found his mouth suddenly going dry. 

The last time he'd seen Todd, he'd given him a blow job in front of a lot of Wraith and their followers. They hadn't talked since, and John could still remember what it was like to kneel in front of him, his cock in his mouth, yellow eyes seemingly staring into his soul.

Swallowing slightly, John faced the screen and hoped he wasn't blushing. 

"Todd was just talking about our last cooperative effort," Woolsey explained.

Feeling his heart beat faster, John shifted his weight. "Was he now?" He asked, forcing himself to sound calm. He had neglected to mention the blow job part to the others for obvious reasons. He didn't think Todd would have said anything, either, but he never knew what Todd was up to. 

On the screen, Todd inclined his head, as to confirm Woolsey's words. "I was just reminding Mr. Woolsey that I made an effort to help you when you needed it," he said, smiling his far too sharp smile. 

That meant he wanted something from them. They'd expected he'd want the favour returned eventually. 

Woolsey looked concerned, but not overly so. "What can we help you with in return, then?" He asked.

Todd grinned even wider, tilting his head to the side. "I have acquired some technology that relies on the gene of the Ancients," he said, neatly folding his hands in front of him. "I would like to request John Sheppard's services. I understand your gene expression in particularly strong, Sheppard." 

"You wish to borrow Colonel Sheppard?" Woolsey asked, sounding surprised. "Surely you see why we'd be hesitant to agree to that."

"If I wished to do him harm, I would not have returned him safely the last time we met," Todd said. "I could easily have kidnapped him at any time during the mission." 

At the end there, John probably wouldn't even have tried to stop him. He fought back the rush of embarrassment. 

Frowning, Woolsey looked at the screen. "How long a loan are we talking?" He sounded like he couldn't believe he was considering it. 

Shrugging, a habit so human he had to be doing it deliberately, Todd looked at something off to the side of the screen. "Perhaps a week the way you count time. Not much more, at least." 

John tried not to fidget, remembering the promise Todd had made before he'd left the last time. His mind might be questioning the sanity of going off to a hive ship alone, but his body was definitely interested. Of course, he had no idea what Todd actually wanted from him, but his imagination was currently going off on a tangent, and he reined it in as best he could.

At least Todd couldn't possibly read his mind from light years away. 

"Colonel?" Woolsey asked, looking over at him, clearly indicating that the ball was in his court. 

It was a pretty easy choice. They did owe Todd a favour and he'd much rather it was spent on something more or less harmless than held in reserve. At least it seemed harmless. If there was Ancient technology involved, it could be anything. The Ancients had not been too good at labelling their more dangerous leftovers. However, if they left it off, whatever request Todd made next might not be so harmless. 

At least this way, it'd only really be John who was in any danger. 

"Anything to get out of that mission to Kinara," he said, giving a grin he hoped looked more relaxed than he felt. The Kinarans had no sense of humour and held several hours long ceremonies that had to be done perfectly. John was pretty sure he'd prefer the Wraith any day. "Just let me get packed." And dressed, because hive ships were too cold for sweatpants and a t-shirt. 

Woolsey didn't look too happy, but they agreed that John would meet Todd on the same world as last time.

As the screen flickered off, Woolsey turned to look at John. "You don't have to do this," he said. "We can find another way."

"Eh," John shrugged. "I don't think Todd actually plans on hurting me. He probably has a hidden agenda, because he's Todd and that's what he does, but I'm pretty sure he knows what Atlantis is capable of. He was alive during the siege, after all. I doubt he'd want us as his enemies.

Also, he'd promised that to finish what they'd started the last time, with the blow job, and not let John go until they were both satisfied, and for all that he was a manipulator by nature, Todd was a Wraith of his word. Not that John intended to tell Woolsey about that promise. 

"If you're certain," Woolsey nodded, though he didn't look convinced. 

"I'll be fine," John assured him. "I know what I'm going to."

At least he thought he did. 

Heading back to his room, he packed his backpack and then curled back into bed. The meeting wasn't for another few hours. He'd a feeling he'd need the energy.

*

As it turned out, Todd did in fact have Ancient technology, but it was not his main interest. No sooner had John arrived at the ship before he was led through countless hallways until they reached Todd's room. 

Todd paused outside the door, looking at John. "You have probably realised the Ancient device was a minor reason for why I brought you here." 

John nodded. He was dense when it came to these things, but not that dense. "I realised," he agreed.

"Then you should know that once I have you in that room," Todd told him, voice low and rumbling, "I am not letting you out until the week is over, more or less."

Swallowing, John looked at the door in question. It suddenly looked a lot more ominous. 

"It is your choice," Todd promised, looking at him still, eyes gleaming. "You do not have to come inside. "

The door slid open, revealing the dimly lit chamber beyond it. Todd stepped through and was almost swallowed up by the darkness as he did. 

Taking a deep breath, John wondered when this had become his life and followed him through the doorway. 

The room behind the door was dark, but it was warm and felt strangely welcoming. John walked in further, hearing the door close behind him. 

"I will not do anything you tell me not to do," Todd's voice came from the dark, though John couldn't see his actual location. "But I will lay claim to you. You will be mine."

The low, purring promise made John shiver, despite the warmth of the room. 

"I will mark you as mine." 

It was as though he was echoing his words around the room, which shouldn't be possible, even with the multi-tonal effect to Wraith voices. 

"If you wish to leave, you may."

John was pretty sure he could find the door if he wanted to. 

He didn't.

"Stop playing games and get over here," he said instead, scowling at the darkness. 

"Very well," Todd purred in his ear, arms closing around his waist. "Shall we take this to the bedroom?"

The bedroom was every bit as dark, but as John was pushed onto the bed, nodes in the walls came on, casting a warm light throughout the room. 

To John, lying on his back like that meant that Todd looked even taller and the shadows from the light made him more menacing than he normally looked, even if John knew all too well that the hunger in his eyes wasn't for his life. It was oddly flattering, in fact. He'd always known he was an attractive man, but it was one thing to have another human think that and another entirely to have an ancient alien creature attracted to him. 

Not that it didn't go both ways. Even before their last meeting, John had occasionally found Todd attractive, and having seen him like that, seeing what he looked like as he came, had not at all made him less attractive in John's eyes. The promise he'd given, too, had been in John's mind constantly, enough that it had been his favourite fantasy to get himself off to. 

Now he had the real thing in front of him, and he was more turned on than he should be, considering Todd had barely even touched him. 

Sitting up, he crawled closer to Todd and nuzzled against his leg, like he'd done during the mission. He didn't think Todd actually wanted a completely submissive partner, but he knew he'd enjoyed John's mouth on his cock, and John had enjoyed having it there. When Todd made no effort to stop or redirect him, John grinned and reached out to undo the Wraith's pants, pulling his cock out and licking the tip teasingly. 

Todd gave a warning growl, apparently not impressed by John's teasing, and grabbed his hair, holding his head in place. 

John gave a small whine, but it wasn't from pain. Todd's grip was like steel and there was no way he was getting free unless he willingly let go, and it made John's cock twitch in anticipation. He liked that a lot more than he should. 

Waiting a moment, as to see if John was going to ask him to let go, Todd ran his other hand over John's face before pushing his hips forward, his cock sliding deeper between John's lips. He made a pleased purr and set a pace, fucking John's mouth relentlessly. Not so hard or fast that John couldn't breathe, but without pause, his pace constant. 

Reaching down, John got his own pants open, wrapping his hand around his cock and trying to match the strokes to Todd's rhythm. The feeling of being practically helpless shouldn't turn him on as much as it did, but he was rock hard and the feeling of Todd's cock thrusting into his mouth over and over was so good. 

Finally, Todd hissed and pulled back, showing John onto the bed. He grabbed John's shirt, digging his nails into the fabric and shredding it open. "Undress," he hissed, standing back to watch.

Shivering under his gaze, John did as he was told, pulling off the shredded remnants of his shirt first, then the rest of his clothing.

Todd made an appreciative sound. "Good. Stay still, and do not touch yourself." He left the room for a moment. 

John was ridiculously hard, his cock oozing pre-come, but he did as he was told, digging his hands into the bedding. 

When Todd returned, he'd shed his own clothing, his skin glistening in the warm light. He tossed a bottle onto the bed. "Prepare yourself," he ordered. "And do it well." 

Uncorking the bottle, John poured the slick oil onto his hand and worked his fingers up inside of himself, putting on a bit of a show as best he could, spreading his legs as wide as he could to give the best view. He didn't normally need that much preparation, but Todd was big, and he had a feeling he wasn't planning on going slow. 

He hoped he wasn't.

Eventually, feeling as open as he could get, he pulled his hand free and looked expectantly up at Todd. 

"On your knees," Todd told him, his voice rougher than usual. "Lean forwards." 

Shifting, John got on his hands and knees, feeling the bed shift behind him as Todd got onto the mattress. One hand wound its way back into John's hair and pulled his head back, and John moaned, his cock twitching again. Todd purred in satisfaction and grabbed John's hip with his other hand, nails digging into the skin. 

The first thrust almost brought tears to John's eyes, though not from pain exactly. It was just too much, but in the best way, feeling completely stretched wide around Todd's cock as he set a hard, fast pace, slamming his hips into John's with every thrust. John groaned and thrust back against him for every move, loving the feeling. He'd never had a lover who could make him feel like that, completely at their mercy, and he loved every moment of it. The hand in his hair pulled held his head in place, so that every thrust sent ripples through his entire body, from his scalp, his hips, his ass. 

The angle was perfect, pressing into his prostate again and again, until John felt raw and open, Todd possessing every cell in his body. He came crying Todd's name, his cock pulsing helplessly. 

Growling, Todd dug his nails deeper into John's hip, his pace growing more erratic as he came closer to his own orgasm. He bent forward over John, his hand letting go of John's hair to come up beneath him, pulling John against him. As he came, Todd sank his teeth into John's shoulder, growling against his skin, breathing hard. 

When Todd let go of him and pulled out, John slumped forward, feeling completely wrung out and loving every moment of it. He'd never been fucked like that before, until his body couldn't even hold him up. 

Reaching out to stroke John's hair, surprisingly gentle this time, Todd purred next to him. 

"I hope you realise you're going to ruin me for anyone else," John murmured, shifting into the touch. 

"Good," Todd purred. "I said I would make you mine." 

Pressing closer against him, John sighed happily. "I hope you realise that makes you mine, too. Just because I can't leave marks on your skin doesn't mean I haven't staked my claim."

Chuckling, Todd rubbed his fingers in firm circles against John's scalp. "That is acceptable," he said, sounding oddly pleased. 

"Get some rest. The week has but started."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rough, biting, scratch


	28. Alien Abduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I normally leave the prompt for the end, but I suppose I should put it up here because this chapter could be seen as non-con otherwise, and there'll be none of that in my happy OTP smut land. 
> 
> The prompt for this was role playing. Anything that goes on in this story is pre-agreed. Not an AU or anything like that. Just John fantasizing about being abducted by hot aliens and getting his hot alien boyfriend to play along.

John wasn't having a very good day.

He wasn't having a particularly good day to start with, just another monotonous day with nothing to do but grab a pizza and some beer and watch a game on TV. Nothing particularly remarkable. He'd gone out to get the pizza and he'd decided on a short cut through the alleyways. Possibly not the safest route, but he'd never been robbed so far, and it wasn't as though he had anything worth stealing. It'd seemed like a good idea at the time.

Anyway, he was pretty sure he could still handle a robber. He might be a washed up ex-military, but he could still fight.

So he'd been walking through the alleys and there had been a flash of bright light, and suddenly everything had stopped existing around him.

When he'd come to, he'd been there, in a strange cell, the walls, floor, and ceiling looking feeling almost alive around him. It was a pretty big cell as cells went, large enough to pace in, but it seemed much smaller, because there was very little light.

He still had his wallet and his cellphone, but he had no reception on the phone and even if he had, he had no idea where he actually was. "Dark and creepy" wasn't really a very good description, even if it was an apt one. "I think the walls are alive" only made him sound crazy. Although the last part was probably kind of true.

It took exactly twenty steps to go from one side of the room to the other, but for some reason, it always took twenty-one on the way back. The floor was oddly soft under his feet, and seemed to pulse slightly in rhythm with his steps. His cell didn't have traditional bars on the door, nor was it a solid steel slab. Instead, it looked like it had grown out of the floor, branching and spreading in a decidedly organic way. The whole place was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

Because the light level was constant, he had no idea how long he was in the cell before the door opened, the branch-like structures withdrawing into the door frame.

Blinking, John walked to the door and peered out into the dark. He couldn't see anything. It felt like a trap. Still, the other option was to stay in the cell, and that wasn't much of an option at all.

He stepped through the door and into the hallway beyond. It was dark and slightly organic, and there was no way to go except forward. A long way forward.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the hallway opened up into a large chamber. It was marginally better lit than the rest of the complex, a strange table in the middle. It looked like something from a horror game, with fastenings and strange marks. It wasn't the table that drew his attention, though.

It was the window.

It was massive, covering most of the far wall, and outside, there was darkness. Darkness and a blue planet floating below, a starry sky above it.

John shivered, walking closer, forgetting all about caution. He touched the glass carefully. It felt like any other window, but that was space outside, vast and empty and terrifying.

He was in space. His heart pounded in his chest, blood rushing loudly through his veins. He was in space and he didn't know how or why, but that was void out there, with only a glass pane between him and it. He wanted to flee, to run away, but he didn't want to turn away from the sight outside. In the end, he ended sliding down, sitting on the floor and staring outside.

Caught up in the shock, he didn't hear the footsteps until they were almost within reach.

Slowly, he turned his head, looking up, past a lot of – Was that leather? – and up. And then up some more. The creature was tall, tall and just humanoid enough to be terrifying, green skinned and white haired, with yellow eyes slit like a cat's. John's mouth felt dry. He was in space and there was an alien, tall and terrifying.

The creature tilted its head to watch him, apparently more curious than malevolent. It had a beard, he noticed. Did that mean it was male? It looked male, the shape of the body beneath the coat not so different from John's own. It – he - looked at John and grinned, baring rows of very sharp teeth.

The sounds that came from his mouth were presumably words, sibilant and clicking, rolling off his tongue almost like a song, the stress rising and falling. It sounded like a dark chant, melodic but menacing.

"I have no idea what you just said," John tried, hoping to communicate that he didn't speak scary alien shark people language.

Reaching out, the creature grabbed onto John's shirt and hauled him to his feet with no effort at all, as though he weighed nothing. He made another set of hissing words, the almost graceful inflection odd for such a harsh language, odd and almost familiar. When his hand touched John's chin, tilting his head up so he could look at him properly, his skin was cool, his temperature lower than a human.

"Why have you brought me here?" John asked, meeting the yellow eyes as best he could. There was curiosity in those eyes, curiosity and a disturbing hunger, but no malice. The star-shape around the left eye framed his expression further. 

The creature spoke another set of words, moving his hand to stroke his fingers through John's hair, apparently interested. John was used to getting comments on his hair, but they were normally questions about how much product he was wearing, not creepy aliens petting him. The creature rubbed some of the strands between his fingers, making a very pleased sound.

John tried to pull away. He didn't particularly feel like having aliens groping his hair. He only managed to bump into the glass, though, and the creature made an amused hiss. He reached out again, grabbing John's wrists and dragging him into the centre of the room.

He was ridiculously strong. John tried to pull back but it was like pulling free from steel cable. He was dragged into place and let go, the creature walking around him, running his fingers along John's arms almost gently.

"What –" He began, but the creature made a low warning growl and slid his hand up John's shirt. He had really sharp nails, and they seemed much sharper against his skin than they had against his clothing. "I'm not your toy!" John spat.

The creature made a small, growling laugh and dug his claws into the fabric of the shirt, shredding it completely open.

Yelping, John tried to fall back but the creature was having none of it, pressing one hand to John's back to hold him still while letting the other hand roam across his chest and sides. Again, there seemed to be more curiosity than malice in his actions, but those very sharp nails on his skin couldn't mean anything good. The creature's hand came to rest on his upper sternum, splaying out, nails digging lightly into the skin. 

There was something hard and sharp in the middle of his palm, and John held his breath, knowing how easily that thing could pierce his skin. He refused to back down, though, staring directly at the alien.

Meeting his eyes, the alien held his gaze for a long time, then slowly cocked his head, moving his hand away. As he did, John could see that his palm had some sort of opening, a sharp black point coming out of it. It looked dangerous, and John had a feeling he'd just avoided a pretty horrible fate. 

The creature spoke once more, speaking his words slowly and clearly. John still didn't understand any of it, but he did understand the alien seemed to want something from him. When he didn't reply, though, the creature snarled and shoved him forward, pushing him into a bent position so John's hands rested in two grooves on the table. The table shifted beneath his hands, the black surface reaching up to encircle his wrists, locking him in place. 

Making a pleased sound, the creature ran his hands along John's sides again, following along the curve of his ass to rub up the inside of his thighs. John bit back the moan that threatened to break free of his lips. The creature seemed to catch on anyway, running his hands all over John's ass and thighs, reaching up to lightly squeeze his crotch. 

Shifting. John wasn't sure what the alien hoped to gain from him. 

Laughing again, the same dry and rasping sound as before, the creature unbuttoned John's pants, pulling down the zipper and making an interested sound as John bucked forwards a little , his cock beginning to jut out of his boxers. 

John scowled at him. He couldn't help but respond to stimulation. From the way the creature was watching him, he suspected he was cataloguing his responses to everything. 

The alien tugged John's jeans down further, until John almost fell over from the way they constricted his legs. Reaching underneath him, he easily held him up and nudged one leg with his foot, to indicate John should move it. 

Doing as he was told, John lifted his leg and found his pants being slipped off. The alien made a slow, pleased purr and nudged John's legs further apart, his hands coming back to his ass to stroke and touch. 

He only jumped a little when the creature's fingers pressed into him, trying to veer off . Those nails were terrifying. The alien was insistent, though, holding John in place with one hand as the other worked his fingers inside him. He must have coated them with something, because John opened surprisingly easily under the intrusion, biting back little gasps of pleasure. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. The fingers felt surprisingly good, despite the wicked claws and the fact that John really just wanted to go home. He couldn't believe he was hard under the creature's touch, but his cock bobbed heavily in the air, twitching in interest. 

There was something seriously wrong with him, John was pretty sure. 

Eventually, the creature decided he'd had enough of playing around and pulled his fingers free. John made a very small sound of disappointment, the sudden absence almost as unwelcome as the intrusion had been. 

The fingers were forgotten as the creature hissed and pressed against him, his cock pushing inside, almost splitting John open. The alien had put some oil on himself, but it almost didn't make a difference, the feeling of being spread open beneath a creature who seemed to find him a plaything humiliating and arousing all at once. The more arousing it was, the more humiliating it became as well. 

The alien set a steady, hard pace, fucking him open, sliding in and out of him like John was made for taking his cock. He was talking again, hissing out words and stroking his fingers against John's back. John had no idea what he was saying but he suspected it wasn't too flattering. 

It felt far too good; the creature had his hands on his hips and was fucking into him with abandon. As to punctuate the humiliation, he reached beneath John and wrapped his fingers around his cock, pumping him at pace with his strokes, nails scraping lightly across the skin until John couldn't take it any longer, making a whine of pleasure in the back of his throat and coming all over the alien's hand. 

Repeating one word in particular, the creature picked up his pace, increasing his strokes and speed until he grabbed John's hips tightly and slammed up into him one last time, shuddering as he came. 

Hissing, sounding mocking more than anything, the creature let go, pulling out of him and walking off to leave John there, soaking in his shame. 

*

"That was what you wanted?" Todd asked, leaning against the window, watching as John pulled his jeans back on.

"Pretty much exactly what I wanted," John agreed. "Thanks for playing along." 

Todd rumbled in amusement. "I do not get to kidnap you as often as I'd like. It was fun to do it properly, if only for the sake of play." 

Grinning, John looked at the shreds of his shirt. "Good thing I have a spare in my bag," he said. "And seriously, thanks for indulging my kinks. I appreciate it."

Pulling him into his arms so that they were both staring out at the planet that looked remarkably like Earth, Todd nuzzled into John's hair. "I enjoyed it. We should play more games like this." 

John laughed and leaned into him, half closing his eyes. "Next time, we can act out one of your fantasies," he promised. He looked forwards to that almost as much as he'd looked forward to this session.


	29. Meeting the parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was not how he'd expected to meet the family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea. I just wanted to write Todd being a bit put out by his parents being trolls. Because parents do that. 
> 
> This is not my best work. I'm really out of it today. I hope it's satisfactory at least! :D

"And here I was complaining that you never take me anywhere nice," John murmured, keeping his head low, though he couldn't quite keep the grin off of his face.

Todd made an amused sound as he led them through the complex, looking particularly imposing in his elaborate coat, his hair somewhat tamed and pulled back. John had come to the conclusion that Todd simply didn't bother trying to impress the expedition, though he still had no idea if that was because he didn't think they were worth it or because he knew they wouldn't care either way. Around other Wraith, he was a lot more willing to assert his position. 

He certainly looked the part of the ancient and powerful Wraith commander.

In comparison, John kind of felt like he looked like an idiot. He was in Athosian dress, pants and a shirt they'd commissioned from one of the Athosian tailors, because his own clothing would have been a dead give-away as to the whole expedition part. He was only there to observe, which meant that his only weapon was a knife in each of his boots. Other than that, he was largely dependant on Todd's reputation to be left alone. 

So far, it was working. 

Apparently, this gathering was a prime place to pick up on Wraith gossip, which was why John was there. Worshippers talked loosely around other worshippers, and for the chance to learn something useful, it had seemed a small price to dress up and hang around at Todd casually strolled around, chatting with his fellow Wraith. At least John assumed that was what they did. He couldn't hear a word of what they were saying to each other, but he assumed they were chatting. Possibly with implied threats.

Many Wraith seemed to underestimate human intelligence, bringing their worshippers along everywhere and never realising how much the humans actually picked up on. One of the worshippers he ended up listening to had learned a lot of the Wraith written language and was talking about planets that were on the culling list, creepily gleeful at the impending death of his fellow humans. The worshippers seemed almost to compete to one up each other about their knowledge of their masters' secrets, and John was reaping the benefits. 

At the moment, though, John was mostly concerned with staying near Todd, because some of the other Wraith around were seriously scary. 

Apparently, that was a thought Todd shared with him, because he suddenly went rigid as another Wraith approached them. He seemed to know Todd, from the way he walked up to him and pretty much got in his personal space, like Todd always did to people when he wanted to mess with them. 

Hanging back, John watched the newcomer. 

He was not a tall Wraith, probably only a little taller than John, but he had an effortlessly commanding air. His hair was pulled back and clasped in place, and he had a small, beaded braid in the middle of his beard, the rest left loose. His tattoo was just lines, going down his face, the last of the three larger lines curving in towards his nose. There was something familiar about him, but John couldn't quite put his finger on it. 

Whatever he and Todd was talking about, the newcomer seemed to have the upper hand. John had never actually seen Todd defer to another Wraith before, but he suspected this was as close as he would get.

Eventually, the Wraith turned and walked off, and Todd motioned for them to follow. 

"What's going on?" John asked, walking a little closer to Todd. 

"We have been summoned," Todd explained, sounding a lot more casual than he was obviously feeling. Something was clearly bothering him. 

The other Wraith led them down a series of hallways, the whole complex basically a labyrinthine mess of corridor after corridor. It all blended into itself for John, everything looking just the same as everything else. 

Finally, they came to the end of a hallway which didn't just lean into another one. Instead, it opened up into a whole new area, an area probably designed as an audience chamber for a Queen to use off of her hive ship. The room was circular, with the throne in the middle, on a small podium, to let the Queen look down on everyone else. 

Not that this Queen needed it. She was clearly tall, taller than most males, the long black hair falling down her back giving her sharp features a stark backdrop. Most Queens John had met had worn elaborate dresses with ornaments, but this one was wearing a very simple dress that John suspected would be dark green to Wraith vision and a single silver clasp in her hair. She was not what he would consider beautiful, perhaps, but she was striking, the scattering of her tattoo like a trail of petals curling up beneath her eye and around her ear to come back around again on her throat.

She had a lot of the same features as Todd, angular and pronounced. A relative, perhaps. 

As they approached the throne, the Wraith who had brought them went to stand at her side, managing to seem imposing even though he was not a big Wraith. 

Todd bowed his head low as they stopped, showing the kind of genuine respect that John hadn't thought he would ever see from him. 

Imitating his lover's actions, John bowed his own head low. He wasn't about to prostrate himself like a worshipper might; they clearly knew who he was, but she was a Queen. Showing her the kind of respect a Wraith male would seemed appropriate, and might actually keep him alive a bit longer. 

There was clearly a conversation taking place, though of course he couldn't hear a thing, but whatever was being said, it left Todd looking almost contrite.

Evidently deciding she had won that conversation, the Queen turned to John. 

She was smiling slightly, as though there was a joke only she was privy to. "John Sheppard," she said, and there was definitely amusement in her voice. "It is good to meet you at last. I have heard much about you and yours."

John straightened up a bit, aiming for military attention. He didn't think she'd be fooled by pretence. "You have me at a disadvantage, ma'am," he said. He had no idea how he was supposed to address a Wraith Queen, but he figured that would be respectful enough, or at least not overtly offensive.

The Queen smiled wider, moving her head to the side a little, her black hair falling over her shoulder. "I am Nightrose," she informed him. "Queen of Hive Nightbearer, and Queen Primary of the Night Clan."

Oh.

This was Todd's mother. No wonder he felt so outclassed. Todd had to get it from somewhere.

"This is my Consort and Commander," Nightrose continued, and the amusement in her voice was very evident now. "Nightcry."

The Wraith who'd brought him there smiled and walked to stand at his Queen's back.

No wonder Todd was so out of it. Up until John's father had died, the man could reduce him to feeling like a clumsy child with a few words. Being in front of both his parents was probably not Todd's idea of a good time. 

Normally, standing in front of a Wraith Queen would mean feeling a mix of fear and defiance. In this case, it had been mixed with curiosity as to what her interest was. That was all gone, leaving him feeling decidedly awkward. Queens could read human minds, which meant she could potentially know exactly how well he knew Todd, which was kind of mortifying.

He was pretty sure he was blushing faintly, which was not making things better. 

Next to him, Todd shifted, alert as though he was expecting a threat, which seemed odd. 

Except not, because Todd had his human lover facing his parents, who fed on humans and could both easily break John if they wanted to. Was Todd concerned on his behalf? 

"Nightseeker," Nightrose scolded, her tone teasing. "Do you have so little faith in your human?" The way she said it made it obvious that she knew the nature of their relationship. 

Todd lifted his head, giving her a defiant look. "I have faith in him," he said, meeting his mother's eyes. "It is you and yours I do not trust."

Half expecting him to get yelled at, John unconsciously stepped closer to Todd. 

Nightrose simply laughed. "You were always stubborn," she mused. "You are in no danger from me or mine, John Sheppard. I swear so on Eternity's name." 

Though he had no idea what that meant, John had a fairly good idea it was important somehow, so he bent his head low again. 

Behind his Queen, Nightcry cocked his head as though listening to something. Nightrose seemed to catch on immediately. 

"I have meetings to hold," she said. "The two of you will remain here for the duration, I hope?" Again, it was not really a question. 

"We would be honoured," Todd agreed. 

Nightcry shifted his weight. "There are rooms to the back where you may rest and wait." 

*

Before long, they were situated in a small but pleasant room. Todd looked at John and stared, fascinated. "Are you blushing?" He asked. 

John scowled at him. "You didn't think to warn me about your parents," he said. 

"I did not know they would be here. My mother-queen dislikes these gatherings. She is fishing for something in particular." Todd looked almost confused, which was far cuter than it should be. 

"You would know," John muttered. 

Looking at him curiously, Todd tilted his head. "What makes you say that?"

"I see where you get it from," John informed him. It in this case signifying everything. 

Chuckling, Todd stepped closer and nuzzled at John's neck, wrapping his arms around John's waist. One hand slid up underneath his shirt, stroking over his skin. 

"I'm not having sex with you with your mother next door!" John told him, trying half-heartedly to pull away. "For one thing, she's a mind-reader. She will kn ow. "

"She will not mind," Todd replied, kissing John's neck gently. 

That felt really good. Maybe just a little bit. He refused to let himself get outdone by Wraith. Even when there was three of them, all related. 

Todd's hand slipped further up John's shirt, playing with his nipples. Todd's other hand was on John's ass, holding him close.

Wiggling, John tried to ignore the fact that he felt like a naughty school boy and grabbed Todd's coat, pulling him in for a kiss. At least Todd's parents hadn't seem to care that their son was sleeping with a human. He supposed they'd gotten used to Todd's ... Todd-ness. 

He pushed at Todd, making him sit down so he could sit in his lap and kiss him, fingers tangled into Todd's hair. That felt really nice, and he stopped caring too much about what else was going on. Todd was stroking over his skin again, purring happily, and John didn't mind waiting if that was what they'd be doing. 

"Turn around," Todd told him, and John did as he was told, moving around until he was sitting with his back against Todd's chest. 

Lifting him up, Todd managed to work his pants down to his knees, and John made a pleased little sound as he could feel Todd's cock against his ass. 

He wriggled again, teasingly. "Do we have anything to use as lube?" He asked, hopeful. 

He wasn't disappointed. Todd pressed a bottle into his hand, and John opened it, oiling his fingers up and working himself open. 

Sitting like that, John could see the door, and he knew they could be interrupted at any time. It was equally mortifying and really arousing. 

Once he was satisfied he'd gotten himself ready, John sat back and slowly slid down onto Todd's cock, biting his lip to keep from making noise. Following suit, Todd wrapped his arms around John's waist and set a slow and steady pace, mouthing words against John's skin. 

As always, Todd felt so perfect in him, like they were made for each other, and John had to keep biting his lip not to make noise as he rocked back and forth on Todd's thick cock, loving every moment of it. 

Todd reached around him to stroke John's cock at the same time, until John was a squirming mess in his lap, wanting nothing more than to come. 

"Not quite yet," Todd told him, moving his hands away to grab John's thighs, lifting him up a little so he could fuck up into him, strokes going deeper and faster.

This time, John did make a whining noise, but he bit it back, wishing he had better traction so he could have pushed back, Since he didn't, he wound one arm around Todd's neck, turning his head so they could kiss again, reaching down with his other hand to stroke his cock again. 

It didn't take much more before he came, come spilling over his fingers, dripping down onto the floor. 

Growling, Todd picked up his pace and bit at John's neck, holding him in place as he came himself. 

When Todd put him down and kissed his bite mark, John shivered happily, pulling his pants back up and lacing it. 

"I can't believe we just did that where anyone could have walked in," he said, but the sigh he gave was mostly just pleasure.

"They would not have cared," Todd told him. "Besides, we have done such things in more public places."

John scowled up at him. "Yeah, but the people there weren't your parents!" He argued. 

Todd laughed, pulling John into his arms again, pressing little kisses along his jawline. "You are cute when you get flustered," he said, licking a trail against John's skin. 

Still scowling, John sighed. "Mmm," he agreed. 

"We should rest," Todd said, pulling John onto his lap again, this time just entangling his hand with his.

"Already on it," John agreed. He leaned back against Todd's chest and closed his eyes. "I'm just going to nap here for a bit."

Immediately, Todd wound his arm around John's waist again, pulling him close and holding him safe. "I will wait for you to wake," he promised, sounding pleased at how the tip of John's ears were still flushed. It wasn't like John to be shy, but apparently Todd appreciated it when it happened. 

"I am sure my mother intends to embarrass us both further."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Shy
> 
> The Night Clan aren't very creative with their names, are they? Actually, Nightcry usually goes by Howl as an informal name, and only Nightrose ever calls Todd Nightseeker. It's one of his oldest names. He has several others, including the one he prefers himself. For males, having the clan name in their name is a great honour. 
> 
> As to why Todd's parents seem so unbothered by their son being involved with a human, it's because a.) they trust Todd to know what he's doing and b.) humans are short-lived so they consider it a pretty temporary thing anyway. If it keeps Todd busy for a couple of decades, all the better.


	30. Sharing is caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eight hours to kill and nothing else to do. What better time to get to know your boyfriend's best friend a lot better?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the last prompt was "whatever pleases you", and I've been wanting to write some more about the relationship Todd and Drought/Kenny has, so ... Threesome, yay? XD
> 
> Also with bonus background history.

By the time they made it to the makeshift shelter, they were both soaking wet. John's face had gone numb from the cold and there was a branch sticking out of Todd's back.

John was pretty sure Drought was laughing at them. He couldn't blame him too much. He'd probably be laughing too, if he'd been able to feel his face. Instead, he ducked inside the shelter and sighed happily as the air turned warm around him. While they'd been off retrieving cargo, Drought had secured shelter, and had apparently done so much more efficiently than they had. The shelter wasn't big, but it was dry and warm and John dropped onto the floor with relish.

He looked up at the two Wraith as he pulled off his soaked coat. They were clearly talking, though he couldn't tell about what. At one point, Todd hissed lightly at Drought, who looked entirely unimpressed.

"You should do something about that branch," John pointed out, pulling his boots off and pulling off his wet socks. He'd tried pulling it out earlier, but the wound was healed around the branch and it was kind of stuck.

Looking at Todd's back, Drought made an amused sound and reached around, yanking the branch out with ease. Todd gave another hiss and walked over, peeling his coat off before sitting down next to John.

"You're going to have splinters," John told him, stretching his hands out to warm them on the heating element Drought had rigged up in the middle of the shelter. He had no idea what it was, except obviously Wraith in design, but it gave off enough warmth to heat the makeshift room with ease.

Todd didn't bother with a reply, just folding his legs beneath himself and wringing out his hair.

His dignity was obviously hurt worse than his back. He wasn't sulking, exactly, but he was clearly not pleased with their situation.

Drought had taken care of the cargo and walked over to sit by Todd's side. Like Todd, he'd shed his coat, though unlike the two of them, he was mostly dry. "I have signaled the Hive," he informed them. "They will be here to retrieve us in approximately eight hours."

"That's good," John said, wiggling his fingers. He could feel his hands and face again.

"You have food enough?" Todd asked, giving up on his hair. It was pretty much a lost cause from the start.

John nodded. "I brought a full set of supplies," he agreed. "I have food, water and a med kit."

"Could I borrow the medical kit?" Drought asked, looking at him.

Shrugging, John turned and fished through his pack, pulling the kit out and handing it over. Drought took it from him and opened it, looking through the supplies. He found a pair of tweezers and held them up, examining them.

"Sheppard is correct about the splinters, Commander," he said. "They will only cause problems later if they heal within your back."

Nodding, Todd pulled his shirt off, turning so that Drought could get to the injury. 

Watching them, John was fascinated by the way they worked together. He'd known they were friends, but seeing them like this, Drought clearly teasing Todd as he picked splinters out of his back, it was evident that they were a lot closer than he'd have thought. 

It wasn't that he didn't think Wraith could be friendly, but Drought always seemed so stern and cold to him. Seeing him like this, his face mostly passive even as he was prodding Todd bought mentally and physically, it seemed that was just how he held himself. 

"How long have you two known each other?" John asked, looking at them both. 

They both paused, considering it.

"About two thousand years," Todd finally said, "the way you count time."

That was the thing about asking Wraith about time. Even when they answered truthfully, it was always something he couldn't even begin to imagine. "Huh," John replied, because there was little else he could say. "And you've been friends since?"

Drought cocked his head. "Actually, when we first met, I could not stand him." 

"It was quite mutual," Todd said, chuckling. 

John grinned. "Sounds like a good story." It wasn't as though they had anything better to do with themselves. 

"My clan lost much during the war with the Ancients," Drought explained, going back to pulling splinters. "We never quite recovered, so when my mother-queen died, my sister-queen saw no other choice than to seek protection from another clan. She was too young and inexperienced to run a Hive as it was, and we would have been an easy prey." 

Shifting so that he was sitting comfortably, John listened intently.

"The Night Clan had been our allies before the war, and so it was to them she turned. The Night Clan Primary found it all very amusing and decided to accept my sister-queen's allegiance. In return, my sister-queen would take her son to be her commander." Drought did sound faintly amused now. 

Todd made an amused sound. "It was not what either Drought or I wanted. He did not want a Commander who was as old and controlling as I am, and I did not wish to be bound to a Queen so young and inexperienced. We had no real choice, of course." 

"Indeed not," Drought agreed, looking at his work. Nodding slightly to himself, he put the tweezers away. "And so we spent well over a cycle waging a silent war with each other." 

"I bet your Queen loved that," John chuckled. He could just see stubborn Todd and impassive Drought making each other miserable. 

Rumbling in amusement, Todd smiled fondly. "Snowdrop spent most of that time threatening us both with increasingly creative punishments," he said. 

"You sorted it out, though," John noted. 

"Evidently," Drought agreed, his hands still resting against Todd's back. 

Completely unaffected, Todd nodded. "We were told to sort ourselves out or be exiled," he said. "Neither of us wanted to test if Snowdrop would do so."

"She would," Drought said, a hint of wistfulness to his voice. "She had little patience for foolishness."

Despite his generally bad impression of Wraith Queens, John kind of would have liked to meet Snowdrop. She sounded like she'd been an interesting person, and both Todd and Drought had obviously adored her. "It clearly worked," he said.

"We did sort things out, yes," Drought agreed, leaning on Todd's back. "Mostly by the Commander pinning me to the floor until I listened to him. It was most persuasive." 

That was a very interesting mental image, and John couldn't quite hold back his laughter. "I'm not even surprised. That's exactly the kind of thing I'd expect from him." 

Todd hissed at them both, but he was grinning. 

The mental image made John wonder about something else, something he'd wondered before. It hadn't ever seemed the right time for it, though. Both Wraith were being remarkably informative, though, almost uncharacteristically so, and he might not get another chance to ask. 

"So," he said, looking from one Wraith to the other. "Were the two of you ever lovers?" 

They both looked at him, and for a moment he wondered if he'd offended them, but then Todd chuckled. 

"Not in the way you are asking about," he said, tilting his head. "We have never been romantically involved." 

He didn't deny that they had been sexually involved, but John had already suspected as much. He supposed he should feel more jealous, but mostly he was just fascinated. His relationship with Todd was obviously pretty unique, and he didn't want such a relationship with any other Wraith, but somewhere along the line, he'd developed an physical attraction to Wraith as a whole, and the mental images Todd's words brought were very nice. 

"Does this bother you?" Todd asked, watching John intently. 

"Not really?" John said. "I mean, obviously you've had previous relationships. You've lived for so long that's a given. And I'm not quite as possessive as you are, either." He chuckled. "Jealousy isn't really my thing." 

He hated being lied to by his partners, but he didn't think Todd would lie about something like that. He trusted him, and that meant not causing trouble over the fact that he used to sleep with his friend. 

Especially not since he apparently really liked that mental image. He couldn't help to wonder what it'd take to actually make Drought drop his passive mask. 

Making an amused sound, Todd gave him that patented "I know what you're thinking" look, which wasn't fair because he was pretty certain Todd wasn't actually that skilled in mind-reading. He was pretty good at reading John's body language, though, and at predicting his thoughts from a pattern, which made it seem like he could read minds. 

"I seem to have been mistaken about your reaction," Todd half-purred, laughing when John scowled at him. 

Forcing himself to look casual, John shrugged. "What can I say?" He asked, giving his best flirty half-smile. "I have an active imagination." 

"You do," Todd agreed, shifting closer to John, reaching out to take John's hand in his, rubbing his thumb against the inside of his wrist. "One of many thing I appreciate about you."

Considering the importance and meaning of hand touching in Wraith culture, having him do that in front of Drought, who had sat back a little, was pretty telling. 

Looking over at Drought, he looked curious, curious and a little amused, though it wasn't easy to tell with him. 

Todd made that rumbling, amused sound John liked so much and leaned closer. "While he sees why your personality would appeal to me," he said, grinning, "Drought wonders what makes a human physically appealing."

The look Drought gave Todd at that was positively annoyed by his standards. "I mean no offence," he said, turning to John. "But your people are fragile. You break easily and live such short lives. I find it hard to see that it is worth it." 

"No offence taken," John told him, because he knew it wasn't personal. "This whole thing must seem to you a little bit like a guy wanting to get it on with a cow would to me. Although I will say that at least I'm sentient and able to give informed consent. Unlike a cow." 

Neither Todd nor Drought knew what a cow was, of course, but he hoped they got the point anyway. 

"His lifespan does concern me," Todd agreed. "But I have found that humans are remarkably flexible. They are nowhere as fragile as they seem at first." 

That was nice to hear. He tended to feel a bit breakable around Todd, because Wraith had that effect on him, even if he knew he wasn't exactly delicate. 

"Perhaps not," Drought agreed, watching them. His eyes were slightly more greenish yellow than Todd's, making them look colder. "I must admit I have been curious." 

Moving so he was next to John, leaning into him, Todd made a small, pleased sound. "Curiosity is important," he said. "Would you not agree?" The last was obviously directed at John, as he turned his head to speak into his ear.

John had a suspicion his answer here would mean more than just his thoughts on curiosity. He knew Wraith were naturally quite physical with each other, simply because boundaries naturally weren't the same in a species who were constantly telepathically connected. If he played his cards right, he was pretty sure where things were headed. 

Considering it, he felt surprisingly all right with that. He'd spent a lot of time thinking Drought disliked him, but once he'd realised that it was simply how he acted towards most people, he'd learned to feel a lot more at ease around the Wraith. He didn't trust him as much as he did Todd, perhaps, but Todd trusted him, and Todd was more paranoid than John could ever hope to be. Besides, the mental image of what two Wraith might look like together hadn't left him alone since they're begun going down the road that had led them where they were now. 

"Sure," he said, leaning into Todd. "I wouldn't be in this galaxy if it wasn't for curiosity."

Todd gave a rumbling sound of satisfaction and leaned in to kiss John lightly. Kissing might not be something that was ingrained in Wraith from childhood like it was humans, but Todd was damn good at it, and seemed to enjoy it as much as John did. Returning the kiss, John found himself crawling into Todd's lap, sliding his arms under Todd's and up onto his shoulders. Caught up in the kiss, he was only vaguely aware of Drought moving closer, until there was an almost hesitant hand at his back. 

Drought's hands were slimmer than Todd's, if not drastically, and his claws were even longer. John made a small, pleased sound and leaned back against the touch. 

"You are very warm," Drought noted, stroking his hand slowly over John's back. 

"That is another benefit of humans," Todd agreed, extracting himself from John's grip long enough that they could both get their hands under the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over John's head, John moving his arms instinctively as they did. 

Leaning in, John kissed Todd again, playing with his hair as he did. 

Purring against him, Todd tugged at Drought's shirt. "You are over-dressed," he told him, before returning his attention to the kiss. 

Sitting back a little, Drought pulled his shirt over his head, revealing smooth skin and a tattoo much like the one on his face spreading out across his chest. 

On an impulse, John wound his fingers into Drought's hair and leaned over, kissing him briefly, biting his lip as he let go. Drought seemed to like that, eyes closing briefly. 

Still purring, Todd tugged him over and did the same, engulfing Drought's neck with his hand, squeezing lightly. Hissing in pleasure and annoyance both, Drought leaned into him. 

"His neck is sensitive," Todd explained , earning himself another little hiss. Apparently, Drought hadn't intended for that to be shared knowledge. 

John wasn't the least bit surprised to hear that, though. Drought had the bone spurs going much further up than Todd's, which shrunk back into the skin where the neck and shoulders joined. Drought's spurs went all the way up to the base of his skull, and John knew how sensitive those tended to be. 

There was something really strange about being in his lover's lap while said lover was kissing someone else. Strange, but surprisingly not in a bad way. Actually, seeing the way Todd and Drought touched each other, with obvious familiarity and fondness, was mostly getting him really worked up. 

Wiggling his way off of Todd's lap, John got up long enough to pull his remaining clothing off, and then sat back down. 

Todd pulled away from Drought to wrap an arm around John's waist, kissing him harder and less sweet than before. Drought shifted behind them, running his hands up John's back, pressing little kisses against John's spine. 

Eventually, Todd let him go, shoving him halfway onto Drought's lap before getting to his feet, pulling his own clothing off slowly. 

John leaned back against Drought, fingers ending up in his long hair again, petting it absently as he watched Todd undress. Drought rested his head on John's shoulder and did the same, watching Todd with gleaming eyes. 

Once Todd was naked and had sat back down, Drought passed John back to him and rose to strip down as well. It was fascinating to see how similar and yet how different his body was from Todd's. He was a good deal slimmer, clearly not a close-range fighter like Todd sometimes was. Still, he was hardly a small person, an inch taller than John and about the same size. 

"While you're up," John said, leaning back into Todd, into the hand rubbing against his neck, "could you get the med kit? There should be a bottle of lubricant in there." He'd stocked the kit himself, to avoid answering uncomfortable questions. 

Nodding, Drought fetched the kit and pulled out the bottle, handing it to John. 

Taking the bottle, John uncorked it and poured a good amount onto his hands, moving one hand behind himself so he could work his fingers up into himself easily. With the other hand, he wrapped his fingers around Todd's cock and stroked it slowly, leaning back against him to hold himself up. 

Purring, Todd used one hand to stroke John's chest, occasionally pausing to pinch his nipples. His other hand was wound into Drought's hair to pull him in for another kiss. 

Unwilling to spend too much time preparing himself, John worked himself open as best he could and then pulled his fingers out, lifting his hips up a bit so he could slide Todd's cock up against his ass instead. 

He loved being in Todd's lap, free to set his own pace as he slowly impaled himself on Todd's cock, feeling it stretch him wide. With his legs kneeling on either side of Todd's thighs, he could control the speed and thrusts a little himself, keeping it slow at first to not overwhelm himself. 

Drought sat back, watching them, letting Todd have his hands free again

Making a pleased sound as Todd's hands ended up on his hips, John decided to keep following his impulses, leaning forward to lick the inside of Drought's thigh. "Come a bit closer?" He asked, the question ending on a gasp as Todd thrust up into him. 

Looking sceptical, Drought never the less scooted forwards a bit, and John grinned, leaning in to take his cock into his mouth. If he was going to do the threesome thing, he was going to do it properly. 

That drew a slight exclamation from Drought, which made John grin and suck harder, bobbing his head up and down at the same rhythm as Todd's trusts, loving every moment of it. Todd always felt amazing inside of him, filling him up perfectly, and he loved giving blow jobs that made his partners squirm. At the moment, he got to do both at once. He felt even more sensitive than normal, even if there was no reason to be, every stroke feeling deeper and better, and the fact that he managed to get Drought to make a serious of pleased little noises just made it better. 

The ridges of Todd's cock dragged against his prostate with every thrust, and it felt so damn good, pleasure building up. He could feel a tightening in his groin and he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. He was going to make the most of it, though. Moving back against Todd with every thrust, he opened his mouth wider, taking as much of Drought's cock as he possibly could, feeling it slide in and out of his mouth. 

Whether it was the mental connection, some other Wraith thing or just coincidence, Todd and Drought were moving in unison, as to drag John helplessly over the edge.

The sheer amount of stimuli was too much for him, and it didn't take much longer before John was coming, bucking against Todd as his cock pulsed and spilled come onto the floor. 

Making a very satisfied little sound, John pulled away and crawled over to the side, lying down and watching the two Wraith, grinning up at them.

"Us poor fragile humans can't keep up," he said. "I'm sure you can manage to handle it yourselves." 

Both Wraith were still hard, glistening with lube and saliva. It was a really nice mental image and John hoped he could burn it into his memories. 

Slowly licking his lips, Todd looked over at Drought and bared his teeth in an obvious challenge. 

The ensuing tussle was almost as entertaining as the outcome, Todd pinning Drought to the floor as he'd done in their story, and Drought wriggling in a way that in no way looked like he was trying to get free. 

Todd found the bottle of lube and poured more onto his hand and his cock, pressing his fingers into Drought, who wasn't protesting at all any more, just making little gasps of pleasure. 

Rolling lazily onto his side, John was happy to lie there and watch his lover fuck his best friend into the floor. It was a really nice sight, the way their bodies moved against each other so naturally showing their familiarity with each other. Apparently, that was what it took to draw sounds from Drought, who was making these half-voiced little gasps now, head thrown back a little. Todd's hand was firmly placed against the small of Drought's back, pinning him in place. 

It didn't take much longer before Drought came, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, not much of a feat with teeth like those. Todd lasted a little longer before digging his nails into Drought's flesh as he came as well, hips slamming into Drought's. 

None of them had much to say in the aftermath, but it was a comfortable kind of silence. Todd found a cloth somewhere and cleaned them all off, while Drought seemed to be concentrating on getting his stern mask back in place. 

John pretty much ignored them both, exhausted now that the adrenaline rush had worn off. When Todd sat back down, John curled into his side and closed his eyes, dozing lightly. As he fell asleep, he could tell that Drought had done much the same on Todd's other side, the familiar sated purr coming in stereo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that, as they say, is that. Thirty days and 63889 words of NSFW ficlets. Thank you to everyone who have been reading this every day and commenting and leaving kudos! I'm not sure I would have managed without your encouragement! :D You're all awesome and I'm so glad this fic has had so much love from you guys. I hadn't expected that, and I'm honestly floored by the response my strange little OTP has been given. 
> 
> I'm almost sad to not have something specific to write tomorrow now. That said, this is far from the last story I have to tell, and I hope I'll be bringing you Wraithy fics for a long while more. 
> 
> Though first I need to pass out a while, because this has been laborious. Fun, but a lot of work. 
> 
> If you want to poke me on Tumblr, I'm at shaded-mazoku.tumblr.com for my personal blog, madnessinfused.tumblr.com for writing (though it's currently just crossposts from AO3, and Wraith-related headcanons and randomness at ebonstar.tumblr.com. If you've prompts or ideas for me, please feel free to send them my way; I can't promise I'll use them but I might be inspired to do something.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to poke me on Tumblr if you want to. shaded-mazoku.tumblr.com


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